Setup

Yornan, Corliss and Hurodash return to their rented quarters near midnight having narrowly escaped death and having learned much more about their Polonian foes. Rhagal and Ser Shadow lay in bed, seemingly shaking off the last remnants of the fever that they had contracted. They appeared to be prepared to extract Kelmen of the The Knot from Highbridge Prison.

Prelude

The night passes uneventfully, except for a dream that Corliss has. In it, a shadowy figure plays a lyre and the ghastly music that rings out grows and twists into almost the same roaring chaos of the Howling Cacophony spell that had been cast by the Polonians.  Then, just as it is about to reach its crescendo, the song ends abruptly and the shadowy figure fades into blackness and disappears. 

In the morning, after leaving the Boarding House, the first act by the party is to cut down the bodies, including that of Grenn the Bartender, that had been hanging from the hastily assembled gallows in the Overtown Square for most of a week. Percy du Ramshead had warned that ill would become anyone that touched the bodies, but Ser Shadow paid no heed and lowered each of the party to the ground. Hurodash and others carried the bodies to the river's edge and buried them there. 

Raid on Highbridge Prison

The party wasted no time and immediately staged their raid on Highbridge Prison. First, they timed their mission to coincide with the 1pm prison inspection where Warrane du Houndstrail, the prison lieutenant Etienne and his sergeant Sebastian conduct their weekly inspection and then move upstairs for their meeting. The plan setup was as follows:

• Hurodash cast Beast Sense, an ability of his as part of Path of the Totem Warrior, so that he could use Buddy to watch the inspection progress and know the moment that the Polonian officers went upstairs. This would be the signal for the party to start their plan of action.

• Corliss wandered into the Main Floor of the prison, waiting in the lobby where fines were paid, trying to avoid attention but ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

• Yornan followed Corliss into the prison, but distracted one of the guards there by beginning to argue about a non-existent ticket and fine.

• Ser Shadow used his disguise kit, in conjunction with a Polonian helmet and cape that Corliss had previously procured, to play the role of a new attaché.

• Rhagal used the spell Disguise Self that he knew from being an Arcane Trickster to match the appearance of the prison lieutenant Etienne.

Communicating via Message, Hurodash informed Rhagal that Etienne was upstairs. Rhagal strode directly into the prison with Ser Shadow at his side and amidst the distraction created by Yornan, he uttered a few vague commands to the legionnaires on duty and proceeded directly down to the first cell level. After making a few, deceptive statements, the guard on duty below escorted Rhagal and Ser Shadow directly to the door to the Black Cells, but the guard became concerned and inquisitive about why the prison lieutenant might want to enter. Ser Shadow, feigning the need for a restroom, walked out of sight and then stealthed back in. Reaching the guard without being noticed, Ser Shadow used his assassinate and dispatched the guard in one turn. Opening the door, Rhagal and Ser Shadow headed into the black cells.

Rhagal used the Magic Doorknob that the party has acquired early to open Kelmen's cell door after failing a lock pick attempt. Kelmen looked to have been a participant in one of a number of disgusting experiments. In this case, a large piece of hairy skin seemingly cut from the body of a massive figure in one of the other cells had been grafted to his body. Rhagal didn't wait, scooped up the body and went for the exit.

As Rhagal left the cell, the tall, stout, red-cloaked and white bearded figure that the party had previously stalked into the underground laboratory appeared and suggested to Rhagal that he explain why he shouldn't just leave the body behind. Rhagal proceeded with a long-winded account while Ser Shadow hid and the remainder of the party, warned by Hurodash thanks to Buddy being nearby, charged down into the prison. Appearing just in time, the arriving party rushed forward to engage him while Rhagal and Ser Shadow charged upstairs, used Etienne's status to commandeer horses and rode for Overtown. Initially pelted with rocks when appearing in Overtown in Polonian garb, our heroes quickly made themselves known the Riding folk and delivered Kelmen to Selma Longbottom.

In the meantime, the red-garbed Polonian sorcerer counterspelled the first few magical attacks before Dimension Dooring from the room. As he left, he wished the party well on behalf of his patron queen Tiamat and unleashed a devil from the first layer of Hell on the party. While the devil may have been a fearsome foe if he attacked in conjunction with the sorcerer, left on his own he was no match for the party. In a fit of desperation as his realized that he was certain to be killed, the devil grabbed Hurodash by the chest, slammed him against the wall, stabbed him with his icy blade and began to twist it back and forth. Turning his back on the other members of the party sealed his doom, but apparently the devil was attempting to kill Hurodash first. The party dispatched the devil just in time.

As part of a quick cleanup, Corliss cut one massive clawed hand from the devil while Hurodash, unable to pick up the icy, cold sword without sustaining damage, tied a rope about it in order to drag it out. The remains of the party burst upstairs and out of the prison, casting Hold Person and Charm Person, and uttering statements such as “Percy sends his regards” along the way. They scattered once the reached the outside. Yornan ran for the Farthing Yards and made his way to Overtown. Corliss used his knowledge of The Docks to blend in and then sneak away. Hurodash, with Buddy and the sword in tow, hid in the alley behind the prison, having snuck beneath the grate in the alley and down into the sewers. As night fell, he also made his way back to Overtown.

Aftermath

The party reunited at The Rusty Spigot having saved Kelmen and earned the good graces and thanks of Selma, Batilda, and others in The Knot and at the Rusty Spigot.

As the party recounted their mission to Selma, they asked her to do them a favorand plant the remaining keys and other incriminating evidence that they had in the dwelling of Percy du Ramshead. She readily agreed and dispatched one of her most trusted cat burglars to do the deed.

Setup

While returning from Swirling Bathhouse with the second of two keys copied from the Polonian Legions personnel responsible for running Highbridge Prison, our heroes Rhagal and Ser Shadow were suddenly afflicted by a bout of Mountain Goose Sickness and wound up laying in their beds in the attic of Batilda’s boarding house, sweating uncontrollably while they were stricken by multiple bouts requiring use of their chamber pots.

In the meantime, a small urchin flagged down the other party members are led them to a meeting with Selma Longbottom. As the party had requested, the Knot had placed lookouts at the prison, and one had returned after seeing an old Polonian man in red robes seemingly emerge from the side of the prison in a flash of light and disappear around the corner.

The party has a view ideas in mind and ventures off to investigate.

Through the Sewers

The party examines the grounds around the prison and finds footprints emerging from nowhere and follows them to a sewer grate in an alley. The lift the lid and hop down inside.

The sewers themselves are roughly six feet in diameter and made of rough stone. They appear to stretch beneath much of the docks area and Buddy informs the party of the presence of at least one horrible monster which he isn’t brave enough to get close enough to identify. The party can navigate slowly and despite finding a exceptionally well sealed and locked door as well as hearing some chittering sounds in the distance, they follow the footsteps to a single doorway.

The party pushes inside and the door locks behind them and disappears. The room is largely empty except for torches, two mirrors and the outline of a five-headed figure drawn on the wall. Grates in the ceiling begin pumping poisonous gas into the room. Moving quickly, the party figures out that looking at the figure on the wall through both mirrors causes the outline of a door to appear. Pressing on the eyeballs of what now appears to be a stylized image of Tiamat causes the door to open and the room to reset.

The Lab

The party steps into a laboratory containing hideous examination tables and lined with jars containing body parts. Two technicians turn, surprised, but the party immediately attacks. A clutch Hold Person spell by Yornan and an unnatural series of natural 20s from Hurodash and Corliss quickly dispatch the sorcerous technicians just as the guards arrive. The guards run and Hurodash, still in his rage, follows them. The other party members sweep up a few obvious items, including an impressive looking wand with a blade of light, and follow Hurodash.

It quickly becomes apparent due to sounds emanating from all directions that the lab is part of a larger, inhabited complex. The initial set of guards run, but more sorcerers and guards continue to appear. The party, in the throes of success, carve their way down the corridor, up a half-flight of stairs and around the next corner, leaving butchered Polonians in their wake. In the sole glimpse around the corner they see another half-flight of stairs, covered by a carpet, leading up to a set of ornate, carved wooden doors.

At this point the momentum of the party’s bum rush is halted and the party finds themselves surrounded. The spellcaster are about to run out of spells and are severely hurt. Hurodash is fending off three guards. And then a particularly vicious blow cleaves Yornan’s armor and he topples to the ground. All looks lost. Very lost.

Quickly, Corliss snatches the last healing potion from Yornan’s belt and pours it his mouth. Corliss and Yornan then both flee, narrowly avoiding the blades of multiple guards as they run. Hurodash plants himself in the middle of the corridor and holds of four guards while the spellcasters escape into the lab. Finally, Hurodash breaks and retreats. An illusion of a blank wall where the door was located gives the party the few moments they need to rush back into sewers.

Escape

The party bursts back into the sewers, pursued by Polonian Legionnaires, and facing the potential dangers of whatever monsters were hiding in the sewers. At first, the party is uncertain of which way to turn, and any bad choice could result in a dead end or the lair of a hungry monster. Fortunately, however, Hurodash never forgets any path that he has taken and leads the party back to the entrance.