3. The Trade Way

The party leaves Beregost around midday with the full summer sun overhead. They keep to the road on this journey, and follow the Trade Way north toward the Friendly Arm Inn.

A couple of hours later, the road before them splits. According to the stone signposts, the road leading west is the Lion Way, toward the library-fortress of Candlekeep. Their own path continues forward along the Trade Way, toward the Friendly Arm Inn.

But they soon come across a troublesome scene. They can smell the burnt wood and flesh long before they see the wreckage.

The horses, both of them, have crossbow bolts protruding from their mangled corpses. A pair of motionless humanoid legs lie splayed out from behind the charred, overturned carriage.

And on the ground before it all, a familiar walking cane; it’s broken in twain, held together by just a few splinters.

This was Aldous’ carriage.

Dieter finds no wand within the cane.

The humanoid body is... difficult to identify. It would seem these carcasses have been exposed to the elements and wildlife for about a day. Still, Dieter's certain this corpse used to be a dwarf, and he's pretty sure he knows which one: Kagain, Beregost's vendor of guards and mercenaries. He seems to have been killed by a well-placed stab wound on his back.

The crossbow bolts sticking out of the horses are an obvious clue as to how they died, but there are other lacerations as well made by bladed weapons. Dieter is increasingly certain that these poor beasts weren't merely killed, but made to bleed for target practice. For sport. Death was not quick.

While Noctalia surveys from the sky, Stella and Aiwë uncover more details about the scene. And everything seems staged. There was no battle here, no clash of opponents. In fact, it doesn't look as though there were ever more than a handful of people present. The carriage was tipped and set aflame, with some sort of agent (likely alcohol) to ensure the fire spread. The walking cane was snapped directly in half - a highly unlikely occurrence to have happened during a time of stress.

There don't seem to be any tracks leading away from the scene; the people responsible were clever enough to try to hide them. But keen-eyed Noctalia spies where the tracks pick up about a half-mile to the northeast, in the direction of a large forest. The Wood of Sharp Teeth.

Not even the summer sun can warm the air chilled by Ida's spell. The dead dwarf sits straight up. The state of his face is better left undescribed, but where used to be healthy eyes now glows that menacing red light, like the dying embers of a shadowed fireplace.

Kagain's head turns toward Ida expectantly.

A few of the companions might remember Kagain's voice in life: wheezy, as though he'd suffered a throat injury at some point. Now his voice is almost inaudible, but still bears his distinctive accent.

"Cowards! They took the boy. I'd never break a contract, but for them dogs the promise of gold weighed heavier than their reputations. I bet my beard Ajantis is the one who paid them. I'm sure he was the blaggard who shanked me. Heh, never woulda fought me face-to-face."

"Three...Carlan, Jepson, Brend."

Dieter can remember a few details about these men, foremost that they are cruel ruffians who revel in violence. He emembers them being berated for dealing too harshly with common folk while on the job. He probably received a backhand or two himself from them in the past, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In fact, he thought they'd been banned from working in Beregost after pushing an old lady down a flight of stairs. Perhaps Kagain grew desperate enough in recent days to hire them again.

"Ajantis got me good. Always hoped I'd go out facing my death. He robbed me of that! They're taking the boy to the bandits. They figure with him as an entry fee, they'll be let right in."

"I always thought I'd be buried in Beregost, the place I called home."

The carriage has been thoroughly burned, but amongst the party there is sure to be an expendable blanket.

As far as Stella can tell, Ajantis and the others have taken Aldous off-road to the northeast, right at the beginning of the southernmost part of the Wood of Sharp Teeth.

It's a long way to go up to Peldvale, but it's through dense forest which the party's horses would have trouble passing through. Otherwise, without horses themselves, the abductors would be easier to catch. As things are though, who's to say how much preparation Ajantis put into this? He may have already plotted exactly how to traverse the forest. Even more, he could have prepared hidden waystops throughout the forest, providing food and shelter to speed his group on their way.

What Stella does know is where they're headed: Tazok's camp. If they can't find the abductors, at least the party can still find the camp where Aldous will be. Ajantis seems to think the young Silvershield is worth more alive than dead, so there's precedence to think he'll be held prisoner in camp rather than killed outright.

Ida hears a short reply from Officer Vai: Understood. The Fists stationed at the Inn may be of service. May the gods go with you.

Stella's eyes roam the map, eye stars flickering as her mind makes its calculations. She finds, however, that she has to work around large variables, unknowns the party simply doesn't have enough information about. The largest of these variables is Ajantis himself; the mercenary has proven to be both cunning and resourceful. Who's to say he hasn't arranged for flying mounts, or the services of a competent mage to teleport them some or all of the distance, or even a magic item to hide their passage...

How many tricks might Ajantis have up his sleeve? Stella almost feels as though she's playing a game of dragonchess against a living shadow.

In the end, the young woman is forced to conclude that the party may be able to intercept Ajantis on his way to the bandit camp, but it would be much like swinging a weapon at an invisible foe; a risky attempt even if you know exactly where the enemy is, and exceedingly desperate if you don't.

The party sets off northward once more, following the trade road that runs up and down this part of the Sword Coast. They make good time on their steeds, and after a handful of hours the towering fortification that is the Friendly Arm Inn comes into view. It's still several miles away, but already the forest on either side of the road has turned thick with trees and vegetation, with long shadows cast by the setting sun; the road passes through the outer edge of the Wood of Sharp Teeth.

They don't slow as they pass by the Inn, but Stella takes just a moment to send off her owl familiar, a written message held securely in its beak. The magical bird climbs high into the air and towards the Inn, its destination the Flaming Fist stationed there.

The road bends around the Inn, and then several miles later splits in two. The Trade Way continues northward, but the party takes the offshoot that strikes deeper into the Wood of Sharp Teeth.

At this point the sun's last rays trickle away beyond the tree-filled horizon, and the party is left with only the warm evening breeze to accompany them. But they've arrived at where they wish to be! This stretch of road, separating the lower half of the Wood from the upper, is surely where Ajantis and his group would need to cross on their way to the bandit camp, and it's hard to believe that they could have gotten here before the party.

Still, watching the road in the encroaching darkness is sure to be a difficult task...

Following the others, I search for clues.
Without a torch to discourage giving our position away to enemies.

The party sets to waiting.

The summer's night nearly clear, affording a generous view of the moon and stars above - and allowing their light to illuminate the road. To the party members with darkvision, the area is comfortably lit. They watch for hours, and midnight comes and goes with nothing to note but the sounds of crickets, frogs, and other nighttime creatures.

But then the sounds stop, the critters disturbed by the passage of something through the foliage.

It's Stella who sees them, keen eyes picking out a handful of humanoid figures approaching the road from the south. She's certain she recognizes Ajantis leading three others, the largest of whom carries a fifth person over his shoulder - Aldous, though she can't determine his wellbeing in this darkness.

It's strange that the group's armor doesn't glint in the night, and their passage makes no discernible sound. Stella's aware of magic capable of cloaking a group's movements in this manner, and indeed has called on it herself, but she knows normally the spell is reserved for druids, rangers, and other servants of nature. How is Ajantis' group utilizing such magic?

The ruffians pause at the edge of the wood, just before stepping onto the road, and look about carefully. Ajantis shifts as he reaches into a pocket, and then holds forth a small stone. Its magical glow would be unnoticeable in the sunlight, but here in the dark the stone clearly emits a faint light. Ajantis makes some small motions, covering the stone with his hand to hide its light, then releasing it to shine again. He repeats this several times, in an obvious pattern.

The group seems content to wait while the mercenary continues his subtle light show.

Stella quickly determines the light pattern to be a simple one, likely just an agreed-upon combination that otherwise has no significance.

As she's writing it down, the party notices a lone, hooded figure emerge from the woods on the far side of the road from Ajantis' group, who perk up at the dim sight.

"Darkness embrace you, Oathless." The voice, directed at Ajantis, is low and feminine. And familiar.

Aiwe's spell blossoms out from Viconia, simply turning off sound in her vicinity - which includes the drow, the four mercenaries, and Aldous. Ajanti and his men are quick to react to the magical silence, pulling out their weapons and putting their backs together to form a defensive ring around the Silvershield noble, who falls into a sit in the middle.

Viconia mouths a curse, then pulls up the hood of her cloak, obscuring her features once more, and points - inexplicably - directly through the trees at Aiwe, wordlessly drawing the mercenaries' attention to the party.

(Perception): The party notices that Viconia still seems able to hear the party. What's more, they can hear soft chanting coming from the treeline across the road from where she stands.

Round 1 Player Phase!

I follow my party into combat. But swing wildly and miss.

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Round 1 Summary

The battle is largely silent, belying the violence occurring within the magical quietude.

Dieter and Runeson's charging steps, crunching dry leaves underfoot and snapping branches off the vegetation as they pass, go immediately silent upon entering Aiwe's spell. When Dieter's sword passes harmlessly through Viconia's illusory self, he changes targets and aims for the mercenary wielding a halberd, trying to get within the man's reach before he can bring the heavy weapon about. The young fighter manages to get into position nearly unscathed, suffering only a minor smack to his shoulder (Dieter takes 7 damage), and then unleashes an impressive display of swordsmanship that ends with Dieter's sword through the man's gut. As his slain enemy slides off his sword, Dieter recognizes him as Jepson, one of the brutish thugs Kagain would sometimes employ.

Several feet away, Runeson battles Ajantis. The paladin quickly finds that his opponent fights like a snake; Ajantis' strikes are fast and vicious, and he's surprisingly deft with his footwork. After an initial bout of swings and blocks, neither combatant manages to score a wound on the other. Ajantis snarls silently at this skilled paladin, and a flick of his eyes takes in Dieter's success against Jepson. It's obvious he doesn't think this fight goes well.

Carlan, another thuggish mercenary, joins the fight with battleaxe in hand. He steps up next to Ajantis and swipes at Runeson, but as the paladin blocks firmly with his shield, Carlan finds his own weapon to be a victim of the cursed Iron Crisis; he drops the shattered battleaxe and draws a long knife from his belt.

Aiwe and Stella clearly see a pair of arrows arc toward them through the night air, and see just as clearly that the archer, a mercenary named Brend, doesn't quite know where the two adventurers are. Apparently his human eyes just can't see well enough in the darkness to aim his longbow reliably. He starts trying to find his way out of the zone of silence, but finds himself unable to move as the surrounding plants animate and wrap around his boots!

Meanwhile, Ida follows Noctalia's lead towards the sound of spellcasting across the road, and finds the real Viconia just within the bounds of the forest. The drow narrows her eyes at Ida, not slowing her iteration of magical words, but then is forced to duck awkwardly as Noctalia flutters past. Quickly after follows a shining arrow from Stella, but the radiant projectile lodges itself into the branch of a tree, where its light sputters and dims (with cover, the shot is just barely a miss). Recognizing the close call, Viconia steps out from the trees and into the road, the spell on her lips building to a crescendo...

As a wave of roots and branches continues to animate and assault the other mercenaries, Ajantis pulls free from the tangle just in time to drop his sword, seize Aldous by the coat, and drag the one-legged youth out into the road. His growled curses suddenly carry in the night air as if from nothing as he stumbles out of the area of Aiwe's silence spell. He mutters a quick spell to speed himself, and hauls Aldous over to Viconia. He reaches the dark elf, meeting her eyes with a defiant glare, just as she finishes her spell. She puts a hand each on Ajantis and Aldous...

...and then the three are gone. Drow, mercenary, and noble are nowhere to be seen. On the road where they stood, however, just barely seen by the light of moon and stars, is a strange mark: a black disk encircled by a thin line of purple.

Carlan and Brend, the only remaining members of Ajantis' group, suddenly find themselves fighting alone against a party of capable adventurers. And at a severe disadvantage, too! Brend is trapped in plants up to his thighs now, and Carlan is armed with nothing but a dagger.

After a quick glance at each other, the mercenaries in unison drop their weapons and raise their hands in surrender.

The mercenaries try to keep their expressions professionally stoic, but it's clear they have no idea what to expect from this group of adventurers. One of their number lies in a pool of his own blood, and their leader has abandoned them. They watch Stella's tirade nervously.

When Aiwe steps forward to interrogate them, they don't remain tight-lipped for long, and quickly explain what they know:

- Ajantis sought them out in town and offered them good money and better prospects to get Aldous Silvershield to the bandits.
- He convinced Kagain to hire them, to give the job sense of credibility to anyone who might ask questions. Then he killed Kagain.
- He led them at every turn of the journey. He always knew where he was going.
- He didn't talk about himself or any goals other than reaching the bandit camp.

They also offer up a few comments about Aldous:

- The boy was a smart aleck.
- He generally made the trip miserable.
- Ajantis gagged Aldous when he talked too much about Ajantis' history with the Silvershields and the Flaming Fist.

Meanwhile, Stella gleans from the mark on the ground that it was divinely-granted magic that fueled the teleportation. There aren't many teleportation spells that priests have access to, and so was most likely Word of Recall.The mark itself is likely the holy symbol of whatever deity Viconia worships.

While Aiwe administers justice to the two lawbreakers, the others determine that the mark left behind by Viconia's teleportation spell is the holy symbol of Shar, the Lady of Loss, an evil goddess of darkness and secrets.

Determined to make the best use of their time, the group begins the trek back to the Friendly Arm Inn, determined to make best use of their time.