Season One: Week Two - Assault on the Red Scarves

The party expressed an interest in finding the Red Scarf who kicked Rodei in the teeth during the previous week's session, so we built this night's adventure around the idea of intrigue, betrayal, and vengeance. The initial hook was the kidnapping of Finbull, the Brotherhood of the Red Flagon's second in command.

Initial Scene: Hendrick's Chambers

The party was called into Hendrick's private chambers where the guild's leader gave them the terrible news; Finbull had been kidnapped by parties unknown with no ransom demanded. Still quite drunk from the previous night's festivities, the party was suspicious of his involvement and tried to determine who would best benefit from the sudden disappearance of the guild's next leader.

Scene of the Abduction

The party found a poisoned/drugged ale mug, a scrap of red leather, several droplets of blood, and a note penned by a familiar hand (to Rodei, the party's fighter who had once served as a bouncer at a high society gala hosted by the letter's owner, Magda Brightstar, an influential young politician in the city of Baldur's Gate). The letter implicated Magda in the abduction of Finbull and with no further leads the party consulted with one of the other guards who served with Rodei at the party.

The Ruffled Muff

The party had some good interaction with the bouncer at the Ruffled Muff, narrowing down the place where Magda would most likely be at that time of day.

The Garden District

Once the Brethren arrived at the Garden District townhome of Lady Magda Brightstar they attempted to gain entry through the front door. After a series of more-or-less successful deceptions the party managed to enter through the servant's entrance and forced Lady Brightstar to meet with them or risk exposing her relationship with Finbull. Unfortunately for the party, they gave Lady Brightstar the letter they had found, whereupon she immediately tossed it into the nearby fireplace, destroying all evidence of her connection to the crime. She revealed that Finbull was not her lover and was, in fact, her estranged father. She insisted on hiring the party as her escort to the ransom exchange somewhere in the marketside by the docks.

The Meet

The intermediaries for the ransom exchange appeared to be legitimate Black Mask assassins, representatives of the licensed Thieve's Guild within the city. When Lady Brightstar attempted to pass off iron discs as gold coins the assassins attacked, panicking the nearby crowd as the party responded with axe and spell. Lady Magda was grievously injured and was saved only by the decisive action of the party. During the melee the town guard pressed in, subduing Otto as he cast spells indiscriminately into the crowd during the combat. After the combat the party found the key to a nearby brothel, the Drowning Mermaid, and decided this would be their next stop.

The Drowning Mermaid

Rodei nearly dies under a mountain of ogre blubber as he suckerpunches the bouncer in the nuts, causing much consternation among the dock workers and pedestrians. Once they made their way inside they found a very frustrated Finbull being supervised by a generously endowed harlot. Finbull insists on joining the party to eradicate the Red Scarves, and Rodei lines up a date with the as-yet unknown woman.

Red Scarf Safehouse

After a grueling battle outside the Red Scarf Safehouse the party found that the man behind the abduction was in fact Hendrick, the current leader of the Brotherhood of the Red Flagon. A magical trap forced the party to flee at top speed, breaking down doors and sustaining serious injury as barrels of explosives hidden in the foundation erupted into flame, claiming the life of Finbull as he flings Magda to safety. At the close of the session Finbull is dead, buried under tons of burning wreckage as the party flees for their lives through a hostile city.