The House of Mists

Seglun hired a cart and Baru helped Raul load it down with his blacksmith tools and supplies and the party headed for an inn somewhere along the waterfront.  Varrid asked Captain Timothy if he wished to meet for dinner.  He agreed to meet at the Black Swan. 

Everyone headed for the Raven's Roost a fair to do establishment along East Front street while Varrid headed to the Black Swan with Drovic and Grunyar to check out the fare.  Raul and Nikko decided to stay at the inn so the rest of the group headed for the Black Swan also. 
Looking past Tower Street to the west, the docks seemed in poorer shape while the street became more heaped with trash and garbage.  Some tall imposing buildings were in view in the distance.  Varrid watched as sailors and ruffians entered and left the Black Swan, they looked rather down trodden and poor.  As she entered she was assaulted with snide comments about her appearance, several of the drunken, smelly men wondering what was under that halo.  Sitting down with Drovic and Ralom she ordered some ale and inquired about the layout of the town.  One young sailor, clearly besotted with her beauty was very free with his information.  Yes the commons is the main bazaar during Festival, the Citadel is off in the northeast near the city walls.  When asked about some way to break a curse he said they should go see the engineer in Goldfinger "he knows everything."  He continued explaining that Goldfinger was the yellow colored tower in the center of the city.  He also said that the dog fights were in the Falkovnian Quarter, they were annually held during Festival, quite exciting he said enthusiastically.
Soon enough Varrid was ready to wash the smell of the Pub off and suggested that the crew tour the city.  Off they headed to the Commons.  Crowded cobblestoned streets opened into a wide paved plaza, perhaps a hundred yards wide and two hundred long.  The plaza was converted into a grand bazaar and trading area of visiting merchants.  Dozens of temporary stalls had been erected in the center of the square, where a variety of merchants, farmers, winemakers and brewers sold their wares.  Although many of the stalls featured the latest vintage wines from the surrounding countryside, they also contained fruit and vegetables from the autumn harvest: apples, squash, corn, potatoes, and huge turnips were all on display among the myriad of stalls.
The north end of the plaza was dominated by a long building with dozens of high arched windows along its facade.
In front of the hall, a wooden scaffold and gallows had been erected recently, at attested by the fresh  unpainted timber and faint smell of sawdust.  A long rope lay coiled at the base of stairs leading to the top of the platform, but otherwise the execution site was deserted, except for a few young children playing among the vertical supports beneath the platform.
Drovic was mentally measuring the space on the platform and easily determined it could hold at least seven victims, he swallowed difficultly and quickly turned away trying to appear calm and lawful.  Grunyar wandered around the commons looking for ammunition and weapons but found none amongst the vegetable, drinks and baked goods.  The crowds around the party abruptly parted, disgorging a sleek black horse mounted by an extraordinarily handsome noble.  In his mid-thirties, he had a long drooping mustache and a scar down his right cheek.  He was wearing hunter's leathers, tall black riding boots and a plumed wide-brimmed hat.  Arvien let out a small gasp as she recognized Matton Blanchard, who then encountered while on Dead Man's Perch.  He glared down at her from the saddle, hand on the sheathed rapier at his knee, not a glimmer of recognition in his face or voice, only haughty disdain:  "Out of my way, you rabble!"
In the wake of the mounted nobleman, six exhausted retainers were jogging behind their master's horse, dragged along by a pack of hounds held tightly in rein.  The emaciated dogs struggled at their leashes frantically in the direction of the food vendors by the street before one of the retainers lashed them brutally with a leather crop.  The heroes let Matton ride on through the Commons without incident.  Ralom and Baru started querying the locals about the scaffold.  "Oh you don't know?  On the last day of the Festival the convicted criminals from the Citadel are brought out and hung as a culmination to the week's activities.  You should get here early to find a place in the front row, it is quite exciting!"  A few more queries led to knowledge of High Street, full of shops of all kinds, weapons, armor and magic.  With that the party decided to move on to Goldfinger to find the Engineer. 
On an unnatural bowl shaped mound, surrounded by a copse of well-tended shrubbery, a lofty clockspire rose into the sky.  The tower was around fifty feet high and hewn from polished golded granite.  Just under the tower's pointed roof, a white clock face stared out at the city, mounted at the center of each wall in the four cardinal directions.  The hands and numbers of the clock were painted a lustrous black, and it chimed twice as the party climbed the mound.
The tower was devoid of windows but there was a door at ground level.  Seglun approached the door and knocked, silence being the only response.  She tried again with no answer, then orally spoke at the door.  Again she was greeted by silence, so she opened the door.  Inside was a small antechamber with a couple of chairs and another door.  At this door Seglun knocked again, no answer.  She opened it slightly spying several tables loaded with contraptions and a wizened, white haired man bending over a metal device hammering away while peering through spectacles, an inch away from the hammering.  She greeted the man, again to no response.  Arvien let out a shrill whistle and the man spun around looked up and said "HELLO, WHY DIDN'T YOU KNOCK?  COME ON IN, HOW CAN I HELP YOU?"  He then placed an ear-horn to his head and pointed it at the doorway.  The group entered with Ralom looking for magic all around, while Seglun and Arvien queried the old man about his work.  "DO YOU WANT TO BUY SOMETHING?" he shouted.  This appeared to be his only volume of speech.  Arvien asked the engineer about the ability to remove a curse and he responded "YOU WANT TO REMOVE A HEARSE?  WHERE IS IT?  WHY DOES IT NEED TO BE REMOVED?"  "NO A VISTANI CURSE!!" shouted Arvien.  "DON"T KNOW ANY VISTANI AROUND HERE." replied the Engineer.  Arvien then gave up, this was headed nowhere.
Baru looked around spying stairs headed both up into the tower and down to a basement?  The tables were covered with clocks, mechanical men, various intricate devices and lunch.   Ralom found a few emanations of magic from various devices of questionable origin or use.  Grunyar was again looking for ammunition but alas found nothing.  Arvien asked about spells or scrolls but the engineer so tired of the attention and turned back to his work.  A few minutes longer led to the party leaving Goldfinger and heading for the shops of High Street.  High Street was filled with all the shops the heroes desired and they spent a while shopping around.  Ralom headed for the local monastery looking for a cure to the Vistani curse, but didn't receive any better response, no one here seems to even admit that Vistani exist, let alone know how to break a Vistani curse.
Drovic headed further down High Street to the Citadel, where he saw a dilapidated castle, brooding on a hill overlooking Karina.  The town walls rode up the hill to kiss the perimeter of the citadel, but the castle stood apart from the town's fortifications, a self-contained stronghold guarding the northern-eastern approach to Karina.  Although the castle's outer walls and towers appeared solid, some of the inner buildings were in serious disrepair.  Not wanting to appear too interested in the Citadel Drovic moved to look at the base of the town's 15 foot high walls.   They were made of gray limestone, punctuated at intervals by narrow bastions.  Near the foundations, the crumbling mortar had been overtaken by seeping, dark green lichen.  A few guards patrolled the walls peering mostly to the outside. 
As the evening was approaching Varrid said she was going to meet Captain Timothy for dinner, Seglun and Drovic joined her in heading for the Black Swan.  Along the way Varrid instigated a conversation with a local "Robin Hood".  She asked about the areas in West Karina.  "Well the Maze is a neighborhood of twisting, shadowed alleys sheltering the lower classes.  It is run by Scar Tabor, who has a band of accomplices.  They are especially active during Carnival."  When asked about the Dog Fights he relayed the location of the Falkovnian Quarter, where a small colony of wealthy Falkovnian wine merchants  make a living in import/export.  Then there is the Warehouse District near the docks, full of storage buildings."  Varrid queried if there were compatriots that might be in the Citadel.  "They would be of no use to us now, they are almost always broken shells of themselves, tortured til they have no firm hold on sanity."  He mentioned the quirky accidents that seem to be happening since Festival started and when Varrid asked about a "boy in black", he made a sign against the evil eye and hurried away.  The dinner with Captain Timothy was uneventful, a meager meal, overcooked and unsanitary, was served.  The good Captain again offering to take them to the Dog Fights if they met him a midnight at the Black Swan.
The rest of the party was caught up in the streets leading to the Wine Garden and Brewery Street.  The streets were filled with revelers, open shops, outdoor cafes, corner entertainers and ale stalls.  The Garden itself was a crowded narrow plaza, a chaotic jumble of tables and chairs.  At the west end of the plaza, on a raised stage, a brass band played cheerful vignettes, while a great mass of drunken dancers stumbled around in front of them.  The Garden was lined with five lare taverns, each packed with customers enjoying the Carnival.  The five taverns were, the Silver Star, the Laughing Maiden, the Clock's Tick, the Golden Fields, and the Shield & Boar each provided wines and ales of distinclty different taste and aroma.
Among the exotic, if expensive, beverages were: Ambered (an aromatic golden wine), Glum Wine (a mellow red), Setarn (a delicate white wine), Shriek (a tart, brash, red wine), Billy Goat (a musky beer) and Sharp (the local ale).  The Garden was filled with minstrels, small bands, mimes, jugglers, jesters, puppeteers and acrobats.  The group did see a few elves and halflings among the crowd.   At the north end of the plaza, near the Silver Star the group saw a set of tables where a wedding reception was taking place.  The bride and groom siting at the head table surrounded by family and friends.  There seemed to be a sequences of toasts to the happy couple being made by family when a man called Gustav, the brother of the bride, was called upon to give a toast.  Instead the angry man splashed wine in his brother-in-law's face, calling him a cheat and a scoundrel for bringing dishonor upon his sister's name.  He challenged the groom to a duel on the spot.  The bride fainted and was immediately attended to by her mother, her maids and an older lady.  Seconds later, the groom's father was on his feet, shouting for his son Dieter to avenge the insult.  While Dieter and Gustav prepared for combat, the tables were swept aside to make room for fighting.  Most of the wedding party was watching the events unfold in stunned silence, and a crowd of curious onlookers started to gather around the perimeter of the fighting area.  The party members joined the onlookers wondering where this would lead.
Gustav and Dieter circled each other looking for an opening, suddenly Gustav stuck his blade into a vial and leaped at Dieter, stabbing him viciously.  Dieter, losing strength quickly disarmed Gustav and plunged the knife into Gustav's chest as both men fell to the ground foaming from the mouth.  Ralom moved quickly to Gustav's side and tried to stabilize the dying man while Baru laid hands upon Dieter.  Grunyar moved to pull Gustav away from Dieter and palmed his purse and vial.  The family members of both sides rushed to their sons as the bride revived and fell into a fit of hysterical crying.  Her maidens tried to calm her, but the old lady had disappeared.
Into this scene returned Varrid, Seglun and Drovic, all aghast at the carnage before them.  A woman wearing a simple, yet elegant dress and a veil across her face approached Drovic, recoiled from the horrific scene by hiding her face on his shoulder.  When Drovic assured her that the battle was over she looked him in the eye and thanked him for his support.  As everyone was tending to the injured or righting the tables and chairs she reacted in horror to a burly fighter walking through the crowd with a fetching beauty on his arm.  She fainted into Drovic's arms.  When revived she explained that when she was a child, Vistanis kidnapped her and sold her to Bakholis, the former overloard of Invidia.  That man was Bakholi's former slavemaster.  She urged Drovic to free the poor woman from his fiendish hands.  Drovic instantly ran to his party members and exclaimed that they must slay the "abominable monster."  Baru listened, but was unimpressed, while Seglun and Grunyar wondered how much Drovic had drunk so far this evening.  Drovic, left to his own devices, started to approach the fiend but just as he was about to strike, he snapped to and merely bowed as the noble passed.  Looking for his paramour, he saw that she had vanished, leaving but a handkerchief dappled with blood.
Pushing through the Carnival crowds, past the Fabulous Fire Easters of Mortigny and the bizarre Fred with his Singing Salmon, they were accosted by a new voice.
 "Come one, come all, to the terrifying House of Mists!" A barker's criy rose above the festival clamor.  "Test your courage wand skill of arms!"
At the side of the street, a man stood on a short wine cask in front of a seven foot tall black wooden box.  A nervous green parrot paced atop the tall box, muttering to itself, "Monsters of the Mists, wraagh!".  The barker's weathered face was creased by an inviting smile, and a gold earring glittered at an ear.  His dark pants and shirt were accented by a fancy red and black satin vest.  The barker looked directly at Varrid in the head of the group.  The roar of the crowd dropped away, so that you heard his voice alone.
"Welcome to the House of Mists!  Come brave the ghosts of your past!"
"Ghost from the past, wraagh!"  The green parrot fixed Baru with a knowing gaze.  Varrid, identifying this barker as a Vistani, strode up to the man and asked his name.  "I am Vincenzo, this is my parrot Lolita and this is the fabulous, incomparable House of Mists." 
"House of Mists, wraagh!"  "Step into the box and battle the fearsome creatures of the Mists, it is utterly safe.  For the thrill of your life, a mere pittance of 5 gp, Each." 
"Perfectly safe, wraagh!"  Grunyar moved up to Vincenzo and produced 5 gp.  Vincenzo opened the accordion door of supple leather, into the three foot square box.  Grunyar entered and Vincenzo shut the door.
Inside, there seemed to be an infinite space, shrouded in thick mist.  Here and there were rocks, trees, grassy lands and a cliff face.  Moments later Grunyar heard the howl of a wolf and then a huge, bear sized wolf charged out of the mist.  The creature looked identical to the great wolf encountered during the river attack.  Grunyar fired two arrows which found their mark.  The wolf charged and its jowls bit at Grunyar but missed their mark.  Backing away Grunyar fired again, hitting with one arrow.  The beast moved to close quarters and savagely bit Grunyar.  At this point Grunyar noticed that even though the bite was painful there was no blood, or injury noticeable, the same from where his arrow protruded from the great wolf.  After a rather short battle, the wolf fell to the ground, the corpse transforming into Baru.  Then Grunyar stepped out of the box.  He related the battle to his fellow heroes, and which point Seglun ran up to Vincenzo and pulled out his 5 gp.  In the mists of the box Seglun battled a goblin sized creature, with red eyes, pointed ears and a large mouth filled with needle-sharp teeth.  The battle was short but the creature kept attempting to dine on Seglun's face.  When it died the creature did not transform at all as Seglun stepped out of the box.
Vincenzo thanked the party for stopping at the House of Mists.  He leaned forward to Varrid and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper:  "The help you need can be found in Vulpwood, but only if you possess courage."
"Courage, wraagh!"  The barker stepped back into the black box, drew the door closed with a brisk snap!  In the blink of an eye -- as if a spell had just ended -- the clamor of the crowd around swelled to its previous volume and all stared at an empty stall in the market.

DM's Notes: The party earned 750 XP for the night and now have  9964 XP and need 4036 additional XP to reach 4th level.