Post by Cadfan on Feb 14, 2020 15:07:59 GMT
The following is a letter written in code to Cadfan’s mentor Finuk in Baldur’s Gate:
I thought I’d found a potential contact here in Daring Heights. A thief by the name of Rebecca Redhand. I’ve been feeling like a bird without wings out here, no networks to tap into, no big jobs to keep me going. Only a bit of work at the bar. So when I heard about this master thief, I just had to see what I could find out.
I joined up with four others. Blurg a Goblin here on some attempt at a solo conquest of Kantas, a Dwarf named Apollo, an Aaraokcran monk called Kru, and an Aasamir named Ziarae. All newcomers to town, though it seems an odd thing to say that considering my own short length of time hiding in this part of the world. The most important thing is that they were all interested in hunting Rebecca.
Sergeant Grimes gave us the run down and promised us forty gold each. Surely the town guard had more than that to spare, but despite my best efforts to get more out of the deal he was having none of it. I’m sure they had ‘better uses’ for that money, enough to not pay people willing to do their bloody job for them.
So our investigation began, Cadfan the detective. I know, weird. But if I had to bite my tongue and follow orders from the town guard to get in contact with this Rebecca Redhand, it seemed worth playing the boot licker this time.
We went to crime scenes and asked around about Rebecca. Everyone knew about her. Everyone knew where she lived. Even I knew both of these facts. At the time I had no idea why, I just did. Like knowing someone's name before they’ve ever told you it.
So we just… walked to her house. But not before we were stalked by a talking frog. After Greebo the talking cat, it was hard to be surprised at these things anymore.
Apparently the frog was called Gasp. Some Grung ambassador or politician that had been cursed by a woman he had annoyed. So he had been turned from a big frog, into a little one.
He asked us to help him, but considering he had nothing to do with Rebecca I couldn’t let it slide without him promising something out of his own pocket. The rich and powerful don’t get my work for free.
So that’s how Blurg the Goblin ended up walking around DH with a frog on his head. Unsure what part of his ‘grand conquest’ of Kantas this was, but he seemed happy with the situation.
Eventually after scouring Rebecca’s place and asking her landlord about her, we found ourselves overlooking the Daring Height’s graveyard from a nearby rooftop cafe called the Cannonfodder Cafe. An establishment run by a Dwarf down from Icewind Dale called Ruby Cannonfodder. I’d recommend the pastries if you ever visit here when it's safe to do so.
Rebecca had apparently scarpered off to this graveyard for some reason. We cornered her and found out that she was no thief. It was all some sort of illusion. She had talked to a fortune teller granting wishes in town and had asked to be famous. So now she was infamous, a master criminal in Daring Heights. It appears whatever spell has taken place here had involved implanting false memories about Rebecca Redhand in the populace of Daring Heights, everyone except the town guard. This is why they were unable to find her while everyone else in town including myself knew all about Rebecca even down to where she lived.
So there was no thief to find. No connections to form, no information networks to join up with. I’m still a solo act with no threads to pull on it seems.
But Rebecca did have a sob story and a bunch of magically created gold that she didn’t want anymore. So that was enough to convince me and the others to help break the spell. Apparently the fortune teller was called Hope and worked out of the Daring Heights marketplace.
We arrived there to find a steange tent. It may as well have had a giant sign saying, ‘magic curses here.’
Inside we found an old woman with a crystal ball. She did her best to convince us to try out her wish granting service. But there was a cost, your soul. Not a price I was willing to pay. But there was something odd about her, something familiar.
Then I realised it. This was no normal woman.
This was a hag. Just like the ones I had encountered outside Nearthorn some weeks past.
I threw my dagger at her, drawing out her true form. Then the fight started in earnest. Kru took a few hard blows but was able to keep going. And after some fighting, we came out on top.
The hag’s body melted before our eyes, turning into snow. As soon as the hag died Gasp the grung transformed back into his original form. Still a frog, but bigger and now he had gold. We got twelve pieces each from him. A good bonus.
While everyone dealt with the Gasp, I found something odd in the tent.
A pouch of herbs.
The herbs inside the pouch were unimportant, it was what was at the bottom of the pouch that was important. A set of strange runes, letters in a language I’d never seen before.
After we reported about our job well done to Grimes and received our reward in gold, I slinked off and had the runes translated.
They read, ‘Ninefold Coven.’
With this and the incident in my first week here with hags outside Nearthorn, it looks like something strange and organised is going on around Kantas. I think there’s good money to be made here, an angle to exploit.
I think now’s a good time to send the rest of my things if you can. I think I’m going to need them.
I thought I’d found a potential contact here in Daring Heights. A thief by the name of Rebecca Redhand. I’ve been feeling like a bird without wings out here, no networks to tap into, no big jobs to keep me going. Only a bit of work at the bar. So when I heard about this master thief, I just had to see what I could find out.
I joined up with four others. Blurg a Goblin here on some attempt at a solo conquest of Kantas, a Dwarf named Apollo, an Aaraokcran monk called Kru, and an Aasamir named Ziarae. All newcomers to town, though it seems an odd thing to say that considering my own short length of time hiding in this part of the world. The most important thing is that they were all interested in hunting Rebecca.
Sergeant Grimes gave us the run down and promised us forty gold each. Surely the town guard had more than that to spare, but despite my best efforts to get more out of the deal he was having none of it. I’m sure they had ‘better uses’ for that money, enough to not pay people willing to do their bloody job for them.
So our investigation began, Cadfan the detective. I know, weird. But if I had to bite my tongue and follow orders from the town guard to get in contact with this Rebecca Redhand, it seemed worth playing the boot licker this time.
We went to crime scenes and asked around about Rebecca. Everyone knew about her. Everyone knew where she lived. Even I knew both of these facts. At the time I had no idea why, I just did. Like knowing someone's name before they’ve ever told you it.
So we just… walked to her house. But not before we were stalked by a talking frog. After Greebo the talking cat, it was hard to be surprised at these things anymore.
Apparently the frog was called Gasp. Some Grung ambassador or politician that had been cursed by a woman he had annoyed. So he had been turned from a big frog, into a little one.
He asked us to help him, but considering he had nothing to do with Rebecca I couldn’t let it slide without him promising something out of his own pocket. The rich and powerful don’t get my work for free.
So that’s how Blurg the Goblin ended up walking around DH with a frog on his head. Unsure what part of his ‘grand conquest’ of Kantas this was, but he seemed happy with the situation.
Eventually after scouring Rebecca’s place and asking her landlord about her, we found ourselves overlooking the Daring Height’s graveyard from a nearby rooftop cafe called the Cannonfodder Cafe. An establishment run by a Dwarf down from Icewind Dale called Ruby Cannonfodder. I’d recommend the pastries if you ever visit here when it's safe to do so.
Rebecca had apparently scarpered off to this graveyard for some reason. We cornered her and found out that she was no thief. It was all some sort of illusion. She had talked to a fortune teller granting wishes in town and had asked to be famous. So now she was infamous, a master criminal in Daring Heights. It appears whatever spell has taken place here had involved implanting false memories about Rebecca Redhand in the populace of Daring Heights, everyone except the town guard. This is why they were unable to find her while everyone else in town including myself knew all about Rebecca even down to where she lived.
So there was no thief to find. No connections to form, no information networks to join up with. I’m still a solo act with no threads to pull on it seems.
But Rebecca did have a sob story and a bunch of magically created gold that she didn’t want anymore. So that was enough to convince me and the others to help break the spell. Apparently the fortune teller was called Hope and worked out of the Daring Heights marketplace.
We arrived there to find a steange tent. It may as well have had a giant sign saying, ‘magic curses here.’
Inside we found an old woman with a crystal ball. She did her best to convince us to try out her wish granting service. But there was a cost, your soul. Not a price I was willing to pay. But there was something odd about her, something familiar.
Then I realised it. This was no normal woman.
This was a hag. Just like the ones I had encountered outside Nearthorn some weeks past.
I threw my dagger at her, drawing out her true form. Then the fight started in earnest. Kru took a few hard blows but was able to keep going. And after some fighting, we came out on top.
The hag’s body melted before our eyes, turning into snow. As soon as the hag died Gasp the grung transformed back into his original form. Still a frog, but bigger and now he had gold. We got twelve pieces each from him. A good bonus.
While everyone dealt with the Gasp, I found something odd in the tent.
A pouch of herbs.
The herbs inside the pouch were unimportant, it was what was at the bottom of the pouch that was important. A set of strange runes, letters in a language I’d never seen before.
After we reported about our job well done to Grimes and received our reward in gold, I slinked off and had the runes translated.
They read, ‘Ninefold Coven.’
With this and the incident in my first week here with hags outside Nearthorn, it looks like something strange and organised is going on around Kantas. I think there’s good money to be made here, an angle to exploit.
I think now’s a good time to send the rest of my things if you can. I think I’m going to need them.
