Notes on the current situation of the caravan campaign
by Ville LähdeSome notes on the current situation:
The PCs left Corunglain and headed for Alfheim. They decided to smuggle their Shadowelf prisoner out of the city and into the forest as a "loose leaf" that the PC elf had been asked to bring back home.
They managed to fool the Red Arrow border guards, as the prisoner had been thoroughly and magically convinced that they were taking him into a much friendlier captivity than Corunglain could offer for caught assassins.
In Alfheim City they booked a room at an inn in the Karameikan quarter, the Traveller's Boot. They still had no idea why the Coruns and the Shadowelves had gathered mercenaries in Favaro, but they suspected that they would be used in the forest. As Alfheim City would be the most likely waystation, they decided to scout the city, as they knew many of the mercenaries.
By sheer luck they spotted two teams of mercenaries: in the Refuge at Humans' Right Inn they saw a group of Soderfjordian mercenaries and a mage from Landesfjord. And at a warehouse close to the Alphatian embassy they saw another of the Landesfjord mages with some suspicious Ylari. As they knew that the Coruns has recruited some Ylari militants, they could put two and two together. The troops were in the city, and most likely something was about to happen.
They managed to get to speak to Guardian Taragin Oakbranch and revealed their information and handed over the Shadowelf prisoner.
Taragin realised that the city was in danger. He sent word to king Doriath to general Gilfronden, and to the Shieldtree garrison. Troops would be sent, but they wouldn't arrive until two day or so. So until then the city would be vulnerable, especially if the PC's suspicions about powerful magical attacks were true.
Taragin asked the PCs to capture and/or eliminate the known mercenaries and learn about the possible attack. The PCs converged on the warehouse and their rogues managed to kill nearly all of the Ylari militants without any fuss. In the end they gained three prisoners: a Ylari fighter and two Vestlander mages who were wielding powerful fireball wands (that the Coruns provided for the Shadowelves during the caravan operation).
From the prisoners they learned that a lot of mercenaries had indeed been gathered at the inn in Favaro. They had been transported to Alfheim city in groups, given targets and one or two mages with fireball wands. This group's mission was to use the fireball wands on the nearby Sentinel trees and then storm the Alphatian embassy.
The signal for the attack would be "when the sky is burning"...
This sounded a bit alarming, so the PCs left the elven guards to mop up the warehouse and decided to press on the attack and hit the berserkers. They hope to eliminate as many of the mercenaries before the attack comes. Hopefully the army gets there in time.
What the PCs don't know is that 1) the escaped Corun merchant has warned the Shadowelf agents in Desnae that something is wrong and 2) when Gilfronden learns that his plans are in danger he will make sure that the attack will take place before the army arrives.
The city guard and the custom office police have been alerted, so the city won't be caught by surprise. Still, the attack will be fearsome: using the magic items gathered by the Corun conspirators, the Shadowelves will release a powerful spirit of Cretia in Celedryl's market, unleash the Phoenix upon Guardian's palace and summon a powerful Flaem fire elemental on the Council tree.
It remains to be seen whether the PCs can help save the city.