Session 11: Threatening Violence

Characters involved:

• Amaril, elf cleric of Helm.
• Pisqual “Piper” Dunraven, human rogue and ambitious thief.
• Primeiro d’Pirazzi, human mage extraordinaire.
• Shrain, dwarf cleric of Moradin.
• Zelder, halfling rogue and pastry aficionado.

Though the pigeon eventually disappeared from sight, PCs did find its "roost." It was a building several streets up from the waterfront. Vaicht found it first, and Primeiro, Amaril, and Piper soon followed him to their destination. Conjuring a minor illusion of Helm's pointing fist floating above the destination, Amaril was able to direct the others: Shrain hustling through the streets hefting the ransom money in the form of a small chest filled with 800 gold pieces in. Zelder had spotted and kept pace with the dwarf as they ran.

Everybody loves stirges!

Meanwhile, Primeiro eavesdropped at the basement flat beneath a hatter's shop in the building where the pigeon disappeared. He heard raised voices, an argument, and quickly deduced these were the kidnappers of the boy in question, Omdarsh, the son of the merchant Darsh Nyach, one of the Peers of the Parliament.

As a group, PCs initially went in peacefully an attempted to offer the ransom money in exchange for the boy, who was bound inside a thick wooden cage alongside a cage of stirges (multi-winged insectoid, blood-draining beasties). The kidnappers numbered three rogueish-looking humans, a pair of halflings, and a plate mail-armored warrior. It seemed clear that the kidnappers wanted the gold, and demanded it be given over. In the last moment, however, Shrain turned and swing his axe—and a bloody fight ensued.

Though the kidnappers were defeated and the boy saved, the PCs were badly wounded, and more than a few victim to a small swarm of the stirges, which had been loosed by one of the halfling kidnappers. Both Amaril and Shrain (the party's clerics, the only ones capable of using healing magic!) were sent crashing, bleeding, to the floor by the might of the plate-armored, greatsword-wielding warrior. But Zelder reacted quickly with his healer's kit and bound both their wounds, sparing them from bleeding out.

One of the kidnappers got away, escaping into a tunnel down into the sewers. The PCs searched the hideout and found that the plate-armored man had tucked away a Flaming Fist uniform and a ring marking him as a flame (lieutenant)! This was news indeed, hard evidence that the mercenary organization had corruption in its ranks. After waiting a couple of hours for Shrain and Amaril and stir into agonizing consciousness, they made their way back to the Seatower of Balduran to return the boy and report what had happened.

Marshal Ravengard wasn't around, but the soldiers took them in and Darsh Nyach, the boy's father, was overjoyed at having his son back. The PCs took some rest, secured the traitor Flaming Fist lieutenant's body (they wished to speak with Ravengard about him later).

The next morning the PCs set out again, hoping to investigate a few more things. For one, Primeiro wished to visit Felogyr's Fireworks, for he wanted to find out more about the ceramic bowl bearing Felogyr's name, the one that smelled of smokepowder. Smokepowder was all but illegal, a product of the church of Gond. Very few places were licensed to produce or sell smokepowder items—a potent, explosive alchemical substance indeed—though Felogyr's was at least one such establishment.

Gond, the Wonderbringer, was the one
to introduce smokepowder to the Forgotten
Realms. He first gifted the secret of its
creation to the island-nation of Lantan for
sheltering him during the Time of
Troubles. The church of Gond is one
of the few manufacturers of
smokepowder. It was banned in
many cities for its dangerous potency.

On the way out of the Seatower, however, Hansen, the son of Brother Hodges, came running towards the PCs. A moment later, they heard the distant blaring of clarions. Shrain knew instantly it was a warning, a distress call, or some other means of the military to raise an alarm. The Flaming Fist was quickly responding to something.

Hansen told the PCs that his father had sent him to find them. A large number of Outer City residents had gathered in the district of Norchapel and were on a peaceful march towards High Hall in an attempt to have their voices heard. Hodges was worried that such a march would not remain peaceful, not with things to turbulent in the city. The PCs followed Hansen as he led them up through the streets to find the marchers.

They encountered them already inside the Lower City, halfway to Baldur's Gate itself, the gate that led from Lower to Upper. The PCs, especially Primeiro, attempted to reason with the crowd. They used illusions both arcane and divine to make their presence known, to attempt to stop or slow the gathering people—which had swelled from dozens to many hundreds. They were effective in culling some of the crowd's numbers, but the people were leaderless and widespread, marching through multiple streets.

At Baldur's Gate, a few hundred Flaming Fist soldiers had gathered and had formed a wall to prevent the crowd's entry. The Watch was conspicuously absent—normally they guarded this gate. Now now at least two thousand men and women had come forward. They were largely unarmed.

Though leaderless, one man did scramble up onto a low building. He called out: "We will speak with the Council of Four! We demand recognition for Baldur's forgotten, the Outer City's hardworking people!"

Up on the wall above the gate, others had gathered to look down upon the masses. They appeared to be soldiers, but not Watch members nor the Flaming Fist. They were the retainers of Upper City patriars, house soldiers and bodyguards. There were also robed Gondsman among them, and many held crossbows ready.

Marshal Ravengard soon appeared and climbed atop some neatly stacked barrels the Flaming Fist had assembled. In his booming voice, he shouted for the crowd to disperse, declaring that no one would not negotiate with a mob. They must return home or the Flaming Fist would drive them all back by force! Again they shouted that they intended to be heard before the Parliament or the Council. Ravengard shouted back angrily, renewing his stance and demanding they go home immediately.

Ulder Ravengard, Marshal of the Flaming Fist,
not a soft-spoken or nuanced man.

Meanwhile, the PCs tried to work their way toward the front of the crowd to the line of soldiers, hoping to stave off any violence. They used magic and loud voices again, even invoked Duke Abdel in attempt to appeal to the city's now-dead hero. It worked, if slowly. The PCs noticed that there were some men and women in the crowds that did carry clubs. They looked like the toughs they'd seen at the Guild meeting several days before. But by far, most of the people were unarmed.

Despite the opportunity to throw his weight around and be forceful, it still seemed like Ravengard was not pleased with the situation. With the Watch strangely absent, the Fist was the only authority represented here. Yet it was then that some of the PCs noticed Imbralyn Skoond, Silvershield's right-hand man, working his way along the line of patriar retainers up on the wall. He was speaking angrily to them—though he was too far away to hear, especially among the shouting crowds.

Imbralym Skoond

Once the PCs reached the front, Primeiro turned around and tried to address the crowd. Those nearest to him listened, for he said he would be the voice of the people, that he—as a Hero of the Wide—would try to speak to the Council on their behalf. But the thousands of people drown him out in their chants, in their demands.

One or two of the PCs even noticed another figure watching from high above, but further to the west, watching distantly: Duke Silvershield. He was too far away to assess. Was Silvershield glad of this unrest, or was he as discouraged as Ravengard by the developments? The Upper, Lower, and Outer City residents seemed ready to clash in dangerous ways. The line of retainers up on the wall seemed to swell with tensions. They began to aim their crossbows right down on the crowd!

Duke Torlin Silvershield

Using the Flaming Fist uniforms that some of them had—particularly Shrain—and the silver brooches that had been given to them early on, the PCs managed to move through the line of soldiers and speak directly to Ravengard. They managed to convince him that the greatest threat of violence right now was the crossbow-wielding guards atop the wall—not the Fist, not the crowd itself. The people seemed fearless, unafraid of the Fist, emboldened by their numbers, and Ravengard himself wasn't going to back down. He hadn't come for a fight, but neither would he cower before a mob.

Still furious—at everyone, it seemed—Ravengard began to bark orders at his men. A full third of the Flaming Fist force marched up to the battlements above to screen off the patriars' retinue of warriors and the acolytes of Gond. The remaining Fist soldiers pressed into the crowd with shields, advancing in lockstep and driving them physically back often at sword point. The people protested, but none fought. Some were trampled and injured, but in the process none were killed!

Violence had been staved off.

The PCs eventually also noticed a third figure watching it all unfold from a rooftop nearby: Rilsa Rael, the Guild's kingpin of Little Calimshan. Just surveying the crowds, the Flaming Fist, the press of soldiers, the patriar forces above.

Rilsa Rael

In the aftermath, Brother Hodges appeared and the PCs left off talking to him. He thanked them for their work on behalf of the people of the city and spoke of his concerns that violence had only been stalled, not abated. Brother Hodges said he believed there was a spiritual sickness in Baldur's Gate, a problem deeper and more worrying than mere class division. Amaril took this moment to speak up as well, telling his companions about another vision he had received the night before during his evening trance—a vision which he believed came from Helm:

In it, Duke Abdel lay dying, mortally wounded, and three menacing shadow figures drew up above him. As they drew up closer, one surged forward and pushed the others away.