Session 23 - Torga

 The party find themselves standing around in Dougans hole - a town without a inn and look for a place to find shelter, they decide on the abandon fish market building on the docks, and then head to ensure that will be ok with the speaker. 

They arrive at the speaker's house, and knock where they are greeted by stern looking older dwarven lady who asks their business, when Throt asks to see the speaker she says of course at once, and ushers them inside. The house is a few loft sleeping areas and a large main hall, where there is a meeting table and a clerks desk shoved into a corner. 

They ask the speaker if she knows of Torgas and when they last came through, where they were headed etc and the speaker provided some very cagey responses which firstly upset Throt the hero of Dougans Hole, killer of the Yeti and second raised some concerns that Torgas might be operating some kind of stand over con on the town. They ask about sleeping in the dock building and the speaker urges them to head back to Good Mead instead but then reluctantly says they can sleep in the dock building. 

They leave the speakers after getting the permissions they need to camp out at the dock building, and see an cloaked figure starting to weatherproof their home for the night, they approach him and determine that Torga is holding the town hostage in the guise of their "Protection" and that they have a cabin a couple of miles to the north of the town, and that's where they were last headed.

The party make it clear that they are sleeping in the dock and the townsman says that they should set a watch as Dougans Hole is not very welcoming to outsiders. The party rest for a time and decide to head north to the cabin and approach under the cover of night. 

The spot the small building, and there is a guard standing on the porch keeping watch. They manage to circle and recon the entire site and decide to position themselves and have the kobolds create a distraction. Throt does this by telling them there is some gold in a shrub near the cabin and if they find it they can keep half. They rush in and try hard to find the gold, the guard hearing the ruckus calls out for them to show themselves, and then shoots a bolt into the bush hitting one of the kobolds but not killing it.  

After calling out again, the guard is slapped by a mage hand and decides to retreat back into the cabin and lock the door. The party weigh their options and decide to block the chimney and smoke out the people inside, as Nogok climbs onto the roof and Throt passes him a stone, they use it as planned and hear calls of put the fire out and coughing. Reveling in his success Nogok is hit by a thrown ice dagger out of the darkness. 

Investigating the direction the dagger came from they find a single set of footprints with no tracks. Kurash and his wolves start to search around to find where the assailant has gone. 

The rest of the party decide to break a window and throw in one of the furry balls, as Etch does this they see 4 bandits inside, and as the ball lands it turns into a panther which scares the crap out of them. 

They break the door down and find an additional room inside barricaded, which after threatening to burn the place to the ground is quickly opened and out comes a person who identifies himself as Torga as they all lay down their weapons. 

The interrogate Torga and find out that Sephek can misty step, and disappeared before the party stormed in, as Throt alternates between words and punches to the face the answers flow freely. Nogok offended at Torgas offers of gold and riches, and employment punches him in the face also, to which he replies "after the big fella that felt like a tickle"

Etch tells one of the guards that the panther is hungry and to feed kitty, to which he replies that there is a sack of rations in the corner and asks for very clear permission to get food from it for the great cat. Etch says yes do it, and as he rummages through the sack he turns and stabs Throt with a dagger which was inside.

The party's lives are very quickly over, and they search Torgas room to find a desk with some papers on it, and a bed. 

They head out to see what has become of Kurash and the hunt to find three sets of wolf tracks heading into the forest one of which are substantially bigger than the other two.