Around the Table

Around the Table

It had not been a good first mission. Everywhere the group had turned they had been met with failure or disaster. Bickering had begun. They didn’t feel a sense of purpose or unit coherency. They didn’t feel like they belonged together.

The Hands of the Citadel had been put together as an elite bounty hunter group in training. They had failed most of their initiation tests to work together, and had not taken a great liking to each other from the start. There was the righteous cleric of Aumanator. The introspective Embersinger. The newcomer druid. And then the aggressive Tiefling/Ethluwar assassin duo. Not only were they an odd group, it seemed like at the very heart of their convictions they would disagree on almost anything. It wasn’t good, and everyone in the group knew it.

They had gathered in silence, all wondering what was going to happen next. They had left the demi-plane with no way of returning. They had lost their supposed employer, and they were stuck in a city where an influential thieves guild trying to kill them. They couldn’t go to the authorities and straighten things out, as they were not entirely innocent themselves. Staying and doing nothing did also not seem a good option.

“So. Are we leaving then ?” Someone ventured at the table. Eyes were cast about, but no immediate response was offered. “What’s our options ?” Someone else asked. Again silence. “We don’t owe this Vanderboren woman anything, we could leave for Waterdeep. There is plenty of treasure to be had in Undermountain.” Again silence. The druid’s dog sensed the weird tension and let out a low yelp. Still no more conversation sprung up around the table. Everyone looked tired and it was as if the fire had gone out. It looked like they had given up.

“Right.” Someone said. “Let’s not draw this out anymore. If this is to be our last discussion as the Hands of the Citadel, so be it. Let’s be honest at least. Everyone offer the options as they see them, then we decide what to do on the morrow.” There was careful nodding around the table. “Everything always seems clearer in the light of morning anyway, I find.” That was probably the cleric talking, but no one in particular noticed if it was.

“It’s simple” someone said, “either we disband, or we leave for Waterdeep on another adventure, or we try to fix this stupid mess.” The group didn’t like the sound of that, but no one could come up with any other options.

“Can we do something before we decide ?” someone interjected, “Could we just sum up what we know about us being here ? I feel like I don’t know half of what’s been going on since we got here.” There was a general consensus on that. Everyone felt like that. “Can’t hurt.” Someone else said. Shrugs were had, and the group set about this one action, which might be their last as a unit.

The group offered up their information, their thoughts, their experiences and their conspiracy theories; they knew for a fact they had been sent here by the Silken Hand, and had been told to report to Vanderboren manor. Gathered information seemed to indicate that the Vanderborens didn’t have any natural enemies in Silverspires, but that they had fallen on hard times, and that the two older nobles had recently died in a fire while travelling by ship. Leaving everything to their daughter Lavinia, including a substantial debt to the city. The daughter contacted the Company of the Carpet for help, and assumed that the Hands were sent by them. She could not pay the fines owed to the city, and needed access to the family vault under Silverspires Cathedral. To do so she needed a signet ring, of which there was two. One her mother recently lost, and a new had been ordered from Silverymoon, but it would arrive too late. Since she needed someone she could trust to get it, she had sent the Jade Ravens. The Ravens were a group of adventurers who had been working for the Vanderborens for years. The other ring was aboard the Blue Nixie, which was impounded in the harbour. Lavinia tried to pay the fine of 100 gold, but Solak Varr kept that money for himself, and said to the harbourmaster that he didn’t get any money. The Hands tried to reason with the man, unsuccessfully, resulting in a lot of dead bodies on pier 5. Solak Varr claimed the attack was by a lone half-orc hired by the Vanderborens, and that magics was used to kill the dockhands and scuttle the Blue Nixie.

The city council doubled the city watch for a while and incurred a heavy fine on the Vanderborens unless they could prove their innocence. Lavinia couldn’t, and nor could she get the money in time to pay the other fines the family owed for. She has now left town for Silverymoon where her uncle and aunt lives, leaving all holdings in Silverspires to the city. What happened to her brother Vanthus or all the people in her employ is not really known by the public.

While there is a theory that Solak Varr hired the the Lotus Dragons, to setup and kill the Hands, the only thing known for sure is that it was ordered by Lady Lotus, the guildmistress. Word on the streets is that the Lotus Dragons is a highly organized, very influential, and very large thieves guild that has arisen in the aftermath of the destruction of the previous thieves guild; the Last Laugh. Also the guild has made a lot of money dealing in exotic “animals”, many of which are probably used as guardians in their lair.

Staking out the Silverspires Vault Exchange has largely been a waste of time, as the Hands did not really know what to look for. The church of Torm has been rather unhelpful with any kind of information, or has been totally oblivious as to what is happening with the thieves in the city.

The harbourmaster was recently assassinated. A note was passed along to the Hands by the Lotus Dragons to stand back and stop looking for them or else... And they were pretty sure they were being watched.

It was a messy exercise, and it didn’t help the group much. They still felt like they should have done things differently. So many things could have gone better if just they had thought of this or that. But they couldn’t go back and change time.

They all left the table with a sense of anticipation. Maybe not nervousness, but definitely a feeling that whatever was decided tomorrow, it was going to be a new beginning.