DSB: You finish off at the Lucky Monkey and decide to head back to Cauldron with Shensen Tessril (female Half-Drow) in tow along with the body (and head) of Sarcem Delasharn. Unfortunately your horses are gone and the ones at the Inn have been slain so it is a march on foot. (Anyone wanting to do anything at the Inn before returning please let me know - like burying the mound of bodies, also note that Shensen is a member of the Striders of Fharlanghn and has indicated that this place is effectively a shine to them). The journey back to Cauldron take a little over 2 days.
The troops of baboons you witnessed on the journey to the Inn no longer appear to be present. The journey passes uneventfully apart from the ever increasing torrent of rain and wind which make the trudge back to Cauldron quite unpleasant. The mood is dower as you wind your way back to Cauldron through the storms, Sarcem is dead, the wands are missing and Rogan Josh has turned slightly translucent (Steve - separate discussion to be had)
During the stop over on the journey Shensen recounts the events which lead to her barricading herself into the well room, the synopsis of which is:
She had returned to the inn from a wilderness walk the previous night and was woken by sounds of fighting. She ran to investigate and found the bandits had already slain most of the guests and employees. Only a few remained standing, including a human cleric who seemed to be the focus of the bandits' attention. She knows that the bandits were led by a horrible man-beast, and that this creature followed the orders of a beautiful woman with red hair wearing a suit of full plate emblazoned with a strange symbol: a mailed fist clutching six barbed arrows (which you now know is the holy symbol of Hextor).
She lent what aid she could, but they were eventually forced to retreat to the basement, where the beast-man killed the cleric. This left Shensen alone and outnumbered. She fled to the well room and barricaded herself in.
You eventually reach Cauldron to find that it is unusually busy considering the inclement weather. Preparations are in full flow for the coming of the Flood Festivals. Decorations are going up on building facades and over streets, merchants and game booths pop up along streets and in vacant lots, bards and other entertainers come out in force to ply their trades, and overall, a carnival-like atmosphere seems to be settling over the city. Many people are coming to the city and gates are busy with people arriving from the outlying areas.
Jenya takes the news of Sarcem's death stoically. After a brief moment of despair her tearing eyes fill with a steely resolve. She's just become the high priestess of the church, and full authority to act on the situation is hers and hers alone. She tells you that it was Sarcem's wishes in his last will and testament that, in the event in his death, he was to be allowed to stay and serve closer to his deity. (Beside there is no one here that can raise dead and the only scroll they had has been used.)
Jenya thanks you for returning Sarcem's body and makes arrangements for a full state burial. Of Sarcem's belonging she only wants the +1 holy light mace returned (it is the badge of office), the other items (+1 banded mail, +1 ring of protection, and peripat of wisdom +2) are yours to keep.
You have not earned your money yet as Sarcem died and the wands are still missing. With the onset of the storms the reward for their return is still valid and their return is becoming ever more urgent.
