Rise of the Runelords Recap # 68 [RPG]

[30 Abadius 4708 continued]

Inside Sandpoint’s Town Hall, a hearing is about to start on Nagol Scarnetti’s lawsuit against Ava stemming from an encounter where he called her names and she responded by conjuring a burst of water to drench him.  Ava whispers to her friends that she doesn’t want them to do anything violent, as she’s confident she’ll get a fair trial.  Kang says that with himself as her attorney, she’ll surely be acquitted.  However, he sneaks off to the latrines to chug an elixir to increase his personal attractiveness and charm.  Meanwhile, Jinkatsyu and Nerissa talk about the latter’s own legal troubles with Nagol Scarnetti.  Truly, the adventurers have made an enemy!

When doors to the large meeting room are opened, the adventurers are ushered inside.  They see the town council (representatives of the four “founding families”) sitting behind a semi-circular table, ready to hand out judgement at the end of trial.  Present are Mayor Kendra Deverin, Ameiko Kaijitsu, Titus Scarnetti, and Belvan Valdemar (standing in his for his elderly father).  Ava and her friends can tell that Ameiko is favourably predisposed to them and that Titus is downright hostile, but that the other two are remaining steadfastly neutral out of either principle (Deverin) or disinterest (Belvan).  Mayor Deverin explains that the charges against Ava range from assault (for using magic against Nagol) to destruction of personal property (for allegedly ruining Nagol’s fine silk clothing) to seditious libel (for impugning the character of a noble).  

Litigants who want the best counsel 

available inevitably hire Edgeworth.

The proceedings begin with Edgeworth, Nagol’s high-powered Magnimarian barrister, making an opening argument that seems to go over well with the judges.  When Edgeworth begins his well-rehearsed examination of Nagol, Kang jumps to his feet to interject for proof that the noble’s clothes were actually ruined.  Unfortunately, Edgeworth was well-prepared for this eventuality and has a set of ruined clothing introduced into evidence!  Edgeworth elicits testimony that makes it sound like Ava, an “adventurer and spellcaster of tremendous power,” lost her temper and assaulted a defenceless, well-respected resident of Sandpoint.  Edgeworth’s oratory is quite effective, and Kang has an uphill battle to win the judges back over.

Kang, who (despite his bluster) has no particular knowledge of the legal system or trial advocacy, begins the defence case by calling his companions as witnesses.  Jinkatsyu’s testimony does little to change the basic outline of events as presented by Edgeworth, but Nerissa’s passionate defence of Ava’s character and contribution to Sandpoint is quite effective.  Salma’s point-by-point, fact-based breakdown of what happened also goes over quite well.  Edgeworth decides there’s little to be gained from cross-examining the trio, and waives his right to do so.  But then, in a move that surprises many in the room, Kang calls Ava to the stand!  On the verge of tears, she explains how hurtful it was to be accosted and called insulting names over and over again by Nagol, and how she was afraid of the much larger man and his friends.  Sympathy wells up in the hearts of the judges (apart from Titus Scarnetti), until Edgeworth begins his cross-examination.  He adroitly brings out just how many battles Ava has participated in, how she has fought terrifying foes, and how she could not conceivably been afraid of an unarmed young nobleman standing on the streets of Sandpoint across from the Garrison.  “Ladies and gentlemen, I posit to you thus: if the defendant can stand toe-to-toe with massive bears and stone giants, how could she truly be afraid of my client?  Was she afraid for her safety, as she claims, or merely suffering from hurt feelings?”  All of the progress the defence witnesses made are shattered by the devastating remark, and Kang’s closing argument fails to further sway the judges.

During a recess for the judges to consider their verdict, Edgeworth approaches Kang and smugly offers a settlement: if Ava compensates his client to the tune of 2000 gold pieces and publicly apologises for her misbehaviour, he’ll withdraw his earlier request that she be stripped of all property and exiled from Sandpoint.  Kang quickly rejects the offer, and whispers to his friends that if things go really bad, they can just teleport away.  Some of the others argue that then they all might get in trouble and be permanently barred from the town.

When the judges return, it’s clear that only Ameiko is still on the adventurers’ side in the dispute.  The verdict isn’t as severe as it could be, but it’s still harsh: Ava owes Nagol 500 gold pieces as compensation for the damaged clothing, and is exiled from Sandpoint for the assault and seditious libel.  The grippli breaks into tears, but while the others console her, Jinkatsyu catches up to Mayor Deverin and asks for a quiet word.  The kitsune prevails upon Deverin to reconsider the decision, saying that the adventurers have saved Sandpoint in the past and are currently on a mission to stop stone giants from invading again!  However, Mayor Deverin says that the law does not allow past or future deeds of virtue to absolve one from wrongdoing: no one is above the law, she says, and (regrettably) even the “Heroes of Sandpoint” have to respect town law.  She does whisper to Jinkatsyu, however, that Kang was a terrible trial lawyer and the group should seek an appeal of the verdict in Magnimar!

Sheriff Hemlock clearly feels sorry for Ava, and says he can give her an hour to gather her things and say goodbye before he has to escort her to the edge of town.  The adventurers discuss what to do next.  Jinkatsyu raises the idea of hiring a barrister in Magnimar and appealing the outcome, Nerissa says that it’s best just to take it on the chin and get on with things, and Salma suggests using magic to disguise Ava as someone else.  In fact, Salma and Kang are so outraged by the verdict that they suggest just letting the town be levelled by the stone giants!  Jinkatsyu is aghast at the idea of letting so many die just because of one lawsuit.  Ava remains quiet and subdued during the conversation, her eyes downcast.  Eventually, the group decide that they’ll make Magnimar their new base of operations, but that Ava should pay the fine and comply with the exile order to avoid further antagonizing the town leaders.  Ava hurries to the Cathedral to say goodbye to Father Zantus, and he’s clearly saddened by what happened—he explains that many people in Sandpoint despise the Scarnettis.  The two agree that in an emergency, Father Zantus will contact Ava through magical means.  Afterwards, the adventurers are escorted through the North Gate by Sheriff Hemlock.  Nagol Scarnetti is there, smirking, but Ava classily turns her back and ignores him.

These rats like muffins!

Salma’s attempt to teleport everyone to Magnimar fails—twice!  The party ends up on top of a rocky escarpment somewhere in the Sandpoint hinterlands and decides to set camp for the rest of the day and try again in the morning.  Nerissa bakes some fantastic muffins, and says that if Nagol pursues a lawsuit against her, she’ll win.  She ruminates about just sneaking into Sandpoint and assassinating the man (saying there’s no way she’d get caught, and no jail that could hold her), a remark that Jinkatsyu condemns.  Later, Kang announces a breakthrough in his attempts to decipher Nerissa’s coded journal: he says it’s a log of imports from Aldoran to Cheliax.  The others seem sceptical.  Apart from rats swarming through the camp in the middle of the night (easily dispatched by one of Kang’s bombs), the hours until morning pass uneventfully.

[31 Abadius 4708]

In the morning, a snowy day greets the adventurers as they reconsider their plans.  A consensus starts to develop for teleporting back to the Iron Peaks and the path towards Jorgenfist immediately, as the timeframe for the stone giant invasion is not known apart from scattered intelligence that it would take place in just a matter of weeks from the initial raid on Sandpoint.  The heavy snowfall, however, convinces the group that travelling through the mountains is too risky and that they should head to Magnimar instead.  Salma’s initial attempt to teleport the group utterly fails, and angry, he has to be talked out of trying for the Iron Peaks instead.  On the second try, the group appears in Alabaster Park in Magnimar.  The adventurers trudge through the slushy streets into the center of the city and head for the Arvensoar, hoping to gain some sort of reward or sponsorship for their quest to defeat the stone giants.  Soon they reach the massive fortress that towers over the city, and Jinkatsyu persuades the sentinels to allow them in by mentioning their encounter with the scout, Veridian.  After being escorted through the labyrinthine corridors of the massive fortress, the adventurers are eventually taken to meet with Captain Gibble Fank.  Fank listens to their tale and Nerissa’s persuasive request for assistance on their expedition to Jorgenfist; Fank says he’ll consult with his superior and let them know in the morning.  In the meantime, given the weather outside, he suggests they stay at a nearby inn, the Black Shield.

The Black Shield seems to be a tavern and inn that caters to soldiers, mercenaries, and caravan guards.  Battle-scarred shields line the walls, and the half-orc behind the bar grunts as he takes the newcomers’ coin.  Nerissa, Jinkatsyu, and Kang decide to brave the snowstorm to find a library so that Nerissa can research the origin of the strange red insect mask found in the boat belonging to her would-be assassin, and to see if she can learn more about the code she must have used when writing her own journal.  A few hours later, however, when the adventurers finally find Magnimar’s best library, the Founder’s Archive, they have only moments to speak with the matron, Irba Demerios, before it closes.  She confirms that the library should have the resources to assist them, and that patrons can hire private researchers if their own skills are inadequate.  The trio agree to come back in the morning.

[1 Calistril 4708]

While the others are away at the library, Ava and Salma stand outside and endure the harsh weather so they can memorize the façade of the Black Shield to aid in future teleportation attempts.  Just before lunch, a messenger arrives bearing two scrolls.  The first, signed by High-Captain Acacia Uriana, says “Take all means at your dispersal to destroy the stone giant threat.”  The second is a magical scroll that Salma deciphers as holding a spell that should allow them to teleport directly to Jorgenfist!
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Director's Commentary (May 19, 2019)

The trial was pretty fun.  I set it up as a skill's challenge, with different DCs to persuade different judges.  Kang is pretty much the world's worst attorney, with a very low Diplomacy score that is an essential part of his character.  Edgeworth (a character from a video game that I uncharacteristically implemented into the campaign at a player's suggestion) rolled much higher.  I actually though the verdict was reasonably fair, but I soon realized it was perceived quite differently, with talk of abandoning Sandpoint altogether!  It's hard to add some intrigue without the risk of it backfiring.

I set a *very* high Diplomacy DC for the PCs' attempt to get some direct help from the authorities in Magnimar, and they made it!  Hence, the scroll of greater teleportation.