Carnevale - Session Seven: Into the Dwarf Gate District
In the pre-dawn twilight, the heirs of House di Benicio made their way through the Dwarf Gate district in search of the treacherous Marco. Matilde and Naso were not with them; they had gone on a different mission at the same time. The air was smoky from the local foundries, and the streets were already coming alive with dwarven workers heading to their jobs, while the first gondoliers were beginning to punt down the canals. There was a dark mood in the street, after the news of the attack on the Grande Convento last night.
There was a group of eight soldiers of the Compagnia del Pennacchi Rosso in the street outside a jewelers' shop, given a wide berth by the dwarven passers-by. Most of them were lounging, watching the crowd; one was looting through the shop; one was restraining the jeweler's wife; and one was methodically beating the jeweler in the street. Blood splattered around his fists as he struck. Outraged, the group intervened. Fighting broke out in the street, and the crowd became emboldened by how the heroes were standing up to the mercenaries. A dwarf in the crowd threw a half-brick, and soon a mob had rallied to their side. The mercenaries were unceremoniously killed, and their bodies dumped in the river. People could only be pushed so far. A revolution was coming.
The Tempio del Cancello dei Nani was not far from the jeweler's shop. It consisted of one large and unadorned building at the front, and a second one at the back. Adrianna snuck into the main building. The Temple was decorated with beautiful sheets of different patterned metals. Candles burned throughout, and a great ceremonial fire blazed at the front of the building. She then went to investigate the other building, which was the living quarters of the acolytes. Meanwhile, Chiara and the others went in to talk to Rabbina Ahbor bat-Hadassah. The Rabbina admitted that a dwarf using the pseudonym of 'Barabas' had sought shelter at the Tempio. She agreed to let them speak to her, but insisted on being present, and refused to let them take Marco away or harm him in any way. But her request was in vain, for when they reached Marco's quarters, they found Adrianna kneeling over his dead body.
Marco had been crushed to death that night by a magic spell. The attackers - almost definitely more tritones - had entered by the window, paralyzed Marco with magical fear, and then killed him, before searching the room for something? The group found a loose floorboard hidden under a chest, and in it a satchel containing fifty ducats, as well as a strange enchanted signet ring that let one breathe underwater, bearing the symbol of three blue dolphins on a black background. Ahbor asked the heroes to seek justice for Marco, and offered them her the temple's aid in doing so.
Greta befriended a pigeon that had seen the murder, who she dubbed 'Percy'. With Percy's aid, she was able to follow the killers' trail to a dwarf bar, Dishan's Taverna, nearby. Dishan offered them refreshments, shared gossip and advice, and also told them about how Marco had come in the previous night to see Jacan, a dwarven smuggler. Jacan would be in later that day - in the meantime, they visited a nearby jeweler and gave him the signet ring so he could appraise it overnight.
That night, the group went back to Dishan's Taverna and met Jacan the smuggler. They plied him with bottles of his favourite honey wine and he told them that Marco was hiring him to smuggle him out of the city. When they asked him about the crest on the signet ring, however, he panicked and called short the interview. Adrianna bribed him with a large amount of ducats from Marco's bag to get him to identify it as the symbol of Angelo il Turchino, a uomo nuovo wizard specialising in sea magic. This must be the man who had hired the tritones - but why? Chiara suddenly had a horrible thought. If he was a wizard, he could surely use magic to find his lost ring. The jewelers were in trouble!
They rushed back to the jewelers shop, to find that three tritones had broken in and murdered the jeweler, and were in the process of stealing Angelo's signet ring. One of the three was a spellcaster, who summoned crushing black tentacles that almost killed the di Benicio heirs. After a desperate and bloody fight, the group were able to prevail and slay them. Then they returned to the Tempio to tell the Rabbina what had happened, rest for the night and plan their next move: an assault on the house of Angelo il Turchino...
There was a group of eight soldiers of the Compagnia del Pennacchi Rosso in the street outside a jewelers' shop, given a wide berth by the dwarven passers-by. Most of them were lounging, watching the crowd; one was looting through the shop; one was restraining the jeweler's wife; and one was methodically beating the jeweler in the street. Blood splattered around his fists as he struck. Outraged, the group intervened. Fighting broke out in the street, and the crowd became emboldened by how the heroes were standing up to the mercenaries. A dwarf in the crowd threw a half-brick, and soon a mob had rallied to their side. The mercenaries were unceremoniously killed, and their bodies dumped in the river. People could only be pushed so far. A revolution was coming.
The Tempio del Cancello dei Nani was not far from the jeweler's shop. It consisted of one large and unadorned building at the front, and a second one at the back. Adrianna snuck into the main building. The Temple was decorated with beautiful sheets of different patterned metals. Candles burned throughout, and a great ceremonial fire blazed at the front of the building. She then went to investigate the other building, which was the living quarters of the acolytes. Meanwhile, Chiara and the others went in to talk to Rabbina Ahbor bat-Hadassah. The Rabbina admitted that a dwarf using the pseudonym of 'Barabas' had sought shelter at the Tempio. She agreed to let them speak to her, but insisted on being present, and refused to let them take Marco away or harm him in any way. But her request was in vain, for when they reached Marco's quarters, they found Adrianna kneeling over his dead body.
Marco had been crushed to death that night by a magic spell. The attackers - almost definitely more tritones - had entered by the window, paralyzed Marco with magical fear, and then killed him, before searching the room for something? The group found a loose floorboard hidden under a chest, and in it a satchel containing fifty ducats, as well as a strange enchanted signet ring that let one breathe underwater, bearing the symbol of three blue dolphins on a black background. Ahbor asked the heroes to seek justice for Marco, and offered them her the temple's aid in doing so.
Greta befriended a pigeon that had seen the murder, who she dubbed 'Percy'. With Percy's aid, she was able to follow the killers' trail to a dwarf bar, Dishan's Taverna, nearby. Dishan offered them refreshments, shared gossip and advice, and also told them about how Marco had come in the previous night to see Jacan, a dwarven smuggler. Jacan would be in later that day - in the meantime, they visited a nearby jeweler and gave him the signet ring so he could appraise it overnight.
That night, the group went back to Dishan's Taverna and met Jacan the smuggler. They plied him with bottles of his favourite honey wine and he told them that Marco was hiring him to smuggle him out of the city. When they asked him about the crest on the signet ring, however, he panicked and called short the interview. Adrianna bribed him with a large amount of ducats from Marco's bag to get him to identify it as the symbol of Angelo il Turchino, a uomo nuovo wizard specialising in sea magic. This must be the man who had hired the tritones - but why? Chiara suddenly had a horrible thought. If he was a wizard, he could surely use magic to find his lost ring. The jewelers were in trouble!
They rushed back to the jewelers shop, to find that three tritones had broken in and murdered the jeweler, and were in the process of stealing Angelo's signet ring. One of the three was a spellcaster, who summoned crushing black tentacles that almost killed the di Benicio heirs. After a desperate and bloody fight, the group were able to prevail and slay them. Then they returned to the Tempio to tell the Rabbina what had happened, rest for the night and plan their next move: an assault on the house of Angelo il Turchino...
Art: Detail from 'Forge of the Vulcan.' Diego de Velazquez, c. 1630.
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