Streetwise: Dorga Strikes Again

Midsummer has come and gone and with it, more tragedy. The three winners of the midsummer festival contests have been slain and their prize money stolen. Dorga is blamed by the populace but truthfully, no one saw the crimes being committed.

Milliven Fastous, an acomplished swordsman, was discovered dead in his room at the Rose and Hammer. He had been enganged in a night of carousing before he retired to his room. Friends of the young man are stunned and mortified about his death. They are convinced that cowardly meathods were used to slay their friend because surely, no one could best him in swordplay.

Lillianna Cotore was found slain in an alleyway near the temple of Lathander. Her body had been uncerimoniously dumped into a sewer drain. Passersby discovered her body hung up on some debris in the drains depths, almost completely out of view. If not for the angle of the sun at that particular moment, the woman's body might not have been discovered. Lillianna was a skilled wizard that was merely passing through the region and had decided to particpate in the festival's activities.

Salas Baldabar, winner of the archery contest, was found slain amidst the tents of the makeshift homes surrounding Deadsnows. No one has been able to report any information pertaining to Salas' activities after the festival or prior to his death.

In addition to these contest winners, ten people won claim permits in a raffle. The papers documenting the names of these winners have dissappeared, much to the anger of the local authorities. It is unknown if these people are alive or dead. The town council has ordered these raffle winners to step forward for documentation and protection but no one has answered the council's call.....

Streetwise: Marvus Osten

Marvus Osten represents the Rourke merchant family. He was sent to Deadsnows to scout out any prospective business opportunities that may have developed due to the gold rush. Word from Marvus has been past due for quite some time. Because of this, Kiara has been sent to Deadsnows to get an update on his activities.

After being accosted by powerful orc warriors, and meeting some new allies along the way, Kiara was able to meet and speak with Lady Icespear. The Lady of Deadsnows had not met with Marvus. She hadn't even heard of the man before. This was a peculiar developement, as proper protocole demanded that Marvus meet with Lady Icespear before conducting any buisness.

Kiara traveled to the hall of records and discovered that Marvus had applied for and received a permit which allowed him to stake a claim. More strange behaviour, as this was not what he was sent to do. Marvus was apparently acting of his own accord and breaching protocole in the process. Further investigation revealed that Marvus had sold the rights to the claim to Maestrus Tabeon, apparent leader of The Free Minds Guild.

Kiara led the group to the free minds guild, looking to get to the bottom of this mystery. Their efforts were met only with frustration as Maestrus was apparenlty not in and the first availble appointment to see him was in three tendays. They used trickery to try and create an opportuntity to investigate further but the clerk was on to their tricksy hobbit ways.

Before the party had much time to consider any further aspects of the mystery, Lady Icespear recruited them to investigate an incident involving a large swarm of spiders that had begun attacking citizens. The party rushed to the scene to find the city guards and the priests of Lathander tending to injuired citizens. Our heroes venturned into the damp, slimy, darkness of the sewers, rooting out and destroying the arachnoid threat. They investigated further and soon discovered the body of the man at the center of their most recent mystery, apparently murdered, as indicated by the stab wounds on his body.

What had Marvus gotten himself into? Was he using the Rourke name to line his own pockets? Did he cross someone he shouldn't have with shady business dealings? Or was he just the latest victim of Dorga The Wraith? These questions are at the forefront of our heroes minds as they delve deeper into the sewers beneath Deadsnows and root out it's denizens.

The Tribulation of Deadsnows: Recap of the last few sessions.

We had a long break from the game and many things have happened both before and after the break. Here is a run down of what has happened since the Session 11 post:

• We converted the game from 3.5E to 4E.
  
• The pathway to the apparent kobold stronghold was discovered.
• The party was summoned back to Misty Ridge to escort the diplomat, Bizzlebin Migglax, to Deadsnows.
• Buddrick left the party to return to the Abbey.
  
• The dwarven cleric, Balgrim, joined the party.
  
• Fenia was slain by a troupe of vampires during the return to Deadsnows. Fenia's spirit rejected an immediate resurrection so she could complete an important mission for Master Herald while she was on the Fuge Plane.
• Aine's sister was discovered hiding in the cart during the vampire encounter. They took her back to Misty Ridge.
• The party encountered a woman being accosted by a powerful band of orcs. An epic battle ensued and the party emerged victorious. Kiara joined the party. She is from a merchant family from the Moonshae Isles and was on her way to Deadsnows to track down a missing representitive of her family, Marvus Osten.
• During the battle with the orcs, a Dragonborn Paladin, Donnar, arrived on the scene and rushed to the aid of the party. He has heard of the kobold activity in the area and where there are kobolds, there are usually dragons. Donnar wants to put an end to any draconic tyranny and has agreed to work with the Misty Ridge representitives.
  
• A note was found on the orcs. Apparently they were ordered to kill Kiara. A new mystery emerges.
• Fenia rejoins the party when they stop at the Hospice, her speical mission completed.
• The party arrives at Deadsnows and meets with Lady Icespear. Bizzlebin begins delegations.
• Kiara leads the group to the hall of records in an attempt to track down the missing representitive of her family. There is record of the purchase of a claim permit and a subsequent transaction which turns the claim over to Mastrus Tabeon, apparent leader of The Free Minds Guild.
• While meeting with Bizzlebin, Lady Icespear rushes in and petitions the party for help with a problem in town. A swarm of strange spiders was assaulting citizens.
• The party decended into the sewers and battled spider swarms and monstrous spiders, much, much larger than themselves. These monstrous spiders had blade like tips on the ends of their leggs.