Muder At The Vulgar Unicorn - Act III

If you are just picking this up, I suggest reading the previous posts first!
Prelude : Characters : Act I : Act II

Act III - Venturing North

12th of Morothus – Shiprisday
After a few days of gathering supplies and finalizing of the loot from the Gem job, the group decides to head north, to the inn call the Brown Bear. This is where all of the recent clues have been pointing them, and perhaps they’ll finally find Paithas Meed. After a late start, the Group starts their march out to the Brown Bear.
On the way to the Inn, the Group hears the sounds of a fight, and when they rush up the path, they see a Feniath attacking 6 robed figures. The Group rushes in and kills the Feniath and earns the thanks of the robed figures. The Fenaith is a definite sign of interest, since they’ve encountered one before at Pace’s warehouse where he had kept Rosa. The party searches the Feniath and finds a note for Paithas Meed. This note is from Arion Swan and mentions money, boars, Erilissi, and a black temple to meet at in Sanctuary. This is definitely suspicious, and the Group starts asking the robed figures about what they are doing, and what might have caused this thing to attack them. The robed figures speak of a curse that is ravaging the area and encourages the Group to leave the area, go back to Sanctuary. The Group ignores the warnings of the robed figures and continues to the Brown Bear Inn, with the robed men following them.
Finally reaching their destination of the Inn, they are unexpectantly greeted by Paithas Meed himself, with another dozen and half of robed figures. The robed figures with the Group inform Pathias of the happening on the trail, and with enormous gratitude, Pathias invites the group inside for a drink. Inside the Inn, Pathias informs the group of the area’s troubles. He claims he’s seen the evidence of a plague or something in the local plants and animals. The robed figures are explained, by Pathias, as Apostles of Nature. They have been helping him with trying to track down the cause of the curse or plague. He continually is urging the Group to leave quickly, not to dawdle in the area – for their own health. His urgings quiet when the Group tells him that they are merely stopping for a rest before continuing on their way to the North.
Outside there is a ruckus, Paithas and Duncaen, the owner of the Brown Bear, go out to investigate it. The Group decides to discuss what they have learned in the Inn with Pathias’ absence. After a few minutes, the Group goes outside to see what is transpiring. They go outside and witness a number of local farmers who have come to the Inn for an impromptu area meeting. It seems the locals look up to Duncaen and come to regard him of a local leader of sorts. The locals have been complaining of local occurrences that they claim is not a plague or a curse, but vandalism and they claim the Apostles of Nature are behind it. Duncaen doesn’t want any trouble for his Inn, himself or his daughter, Engela. With his safety in mind, Duncaen aids Paithas in calming the villagers into complacency about the Apostles. The Group takes no sides, and merely watched the proceedings. After a long bout of talking and accusations, the villagers either go home or into the Inn for drink. Pathias offers the group to pay for their accommodations for the evening in repayment for their aid on the road early today.
In the morning, the Group decides to head back to Sanctuary, and 6 Apostles walk with them. When they are just outside of the village, the Group hears screaming from back at the Inn. As the Group rushes back, they see an Apostle on horseback ride off very quickly, and a group of Apostles are following on foot. Jack races to follow the horseman. The rest of the Group goes into the Brown Bear and Duncean tells them that the Apostles attacked the Inn and have taken his daughter. He pleas for them to get his daughter back. He gives them directions to the farm that everyone knows the Apostles are staying at.
The Group makes a quick exit and they head to the pig farm. Jack slows and eventually the Apostles eventually overtake him. He starts returning to the Inn when he meets up with the rest of the Group, already on their way to help. The Group scouts the farm, and sees that it is ready for an attack. The Group waits for an hour or so, and the camp eventually goes to ease. The attack is not a surprise, but the sneak attack is. Paithas shouts out warning from his watch point in the house when he seen Nicolas and Modig sneak out from the forest. The alarm is raised, and the battle ensues. The Apostles have a mage who starts casting some spells. Malkar hits the mage with 4 arrows when the shatter spell wrecks his bow. Kalima finishes off the mage in melee, and Paithas gets the upper hand on Kalima with a magic dazzle. Jack, Malkar, Modig and Nikolas all finish off the Apostles and Paithas. Searching the farmhouse, they find Engela tied up in a room, and go through the rest of the house to search for clues and possible loot.
Not a lot of outright clues, but Paithas had a note on him from Erilissi, which speaks of many things, but most importantly, of diseased animals. The Group inspects the pigs on the farm but even Malkar doesn’t find anything wrong with them. The Group kills all the pigs in the farm anyway, and they return to the Brown Bear with Engela. Duncaen thanks them with an offer of free rooms for whenever they like.
Back in Sanctuary, the Group reviews the past few days of events and armed with new information, they go to meet with the Magistrate. The Group presents the collected information so far, that there is a plot about bringing a plague into Sanctuary using animals of some sort. The final phase has been planned; a ship is coming to Sanctuary to deliver the plague. The Magistrate is concerned about this ship and is going to set up watch on the docks, with an emergency response always at the ready. The Group is invited to be part of the fighting force when the ship comes in.
What the group doesn’t tell the Magistrate is that there is also a group of cultists hiding in a black temple in Sanctuary somewhere, they follow Dyreela and that Arion Swan is leading them. He’s part of this plot so that he can produce the antidote and save the city. The plot is all about him trying to get the next appointment as Governor to this town.
The Group hits up Alton Stulwig for the ingredients for the cure to the plague. The Group provides coin, and Alton provides the elixirs. The group also starts looking for the Black Temple and Arion Swan, or his cohorts. After many bribes later, they locate the Black Temple of Dyreela underneath the old Heqt temple in the maze. The group scouts it out finding it guarded at all times. They make a plan for a raid, but it must wait until the next day.