Party: Torrin, Krum, Belomash, Henrik, Hyacinth
Foul Weather at Wayside
At the behest of the Leilon guard, the party set off to investigate the strange weather front coming in from the East. As they neared the high road, the weather intensified and figures were visible fighting in the tempest. The group rushed in and discovered Emmalou from the Leilon guard fighting off three air elemental myrmidons. The group overpowered two of the elements and chased off the third in rescuing Emmalou. She warned the group that they only way she had been able to escape the increasingly violent lightning strikes in the area was to pray to Talos for mercy. Some in the party heeded her advice, while those that did not felt the sting of lightning on their way to the inn.
At the inn, the group discovered several people that had been pinned to the external walls alive, in what they would later learn was part of a ritual created by the cult of Talos. After freeing the victims, and triggering a lightning glyph of warding, the party broke through the front doors and made quick work of the cultists chanting inside.
Working their way into the common area, they discovered more cultists in the kitchen. Beckes, the human cook that had been so welcoming on their previous group, led a second group of cultists into battle. These cultists, aided by the remaining air elemental, proved to be more of a challenge, nearly killing Krum and Hyacinth, but in the end the party triumphed. Henrik took the opportunity to explore upstairs and discovered the gnome Cray Onderquill, an apprentice magician, hiding under a bed. She confirmed that the cultists used the other inn patrons in their deadly ritual, but had also taken the bard Tarbin Tul for another part of their plan. Martisha Vinetalker was taken into the basement.
After discovering the entrance to the basement, the group pushed on to discover Teega the half orc blacksmith and a copper statue of Talos. A fierce battle ensued, with Teega pulling power from the statue in her battle with Belomash and the rest of the party focusing on the avatar of Talos. With the help of Martisha, the statue was destroyed and Teega was defeated. They discovered that Teega had a map that seemed to indicate points of interest for the cult along the Sword Coast. Marthisa offered her gratitude and encouraged the party to rest at the inn before heading back to Leilon.
