Episode 8: Acts of Desperation, Synopsis

It all began with a desperate plea for help from Nicolas Wörner. The plea turned out to be nothing more than a pathetic attempt to win a useless bar bet about whether you would call yourselves “heroes.” Despite that, everything turned out well as Altamira’s citizens came to your rescue, and regaled the tavern with tales of your exploits.

And it all came to a crashing halt with a pistol shot that heralded the arrival of Pedro Suárez de Soldano. He was drunk and armed, and seemed certain that you were in league with The Shadow King. While he demanded immediate satisfaction, he was in no condition to defend himself. So cooler heads prevailed and he was sent to sleep it off.

With the sun barely over the horizon, you found yourself awakened by Enrique Peña, lately one of the Acalde’s men. The Acalde wished to speak with you and was quite insistent on the matter. Very soon you found yourself in La Derecha de Las Prophetas, staring at a body that wore Pedro’s clothes. He’d had been beaten so badly, you almost couldn’t tell if it had been him.

After some questioning, the Acalde was assured you hadn’t done the deed. But given that Pedro was homeless, the Acalde was doubtful the murder would ever be solved. That is, unless a certain group of heroes got involved. As for himself, he announced he’d be busy with some Eisen mercenaries he’d recently arrested.

The investigation started slow, at least until you remembered some of Pedro’s words the previous evening. That led you to his former rooms and more importantly, his diaries. You’d had a time with his former landlady, Gracia Delgado, who was as greedy and petty as they come. But in the end the trail pointed you toward Montaña Corta, Soldano’s only prison.

After a conversation with the Acalde, a plan was hatched. It was a simple matter to supplant the Eisen Mercenaries, and soon enough you were being ushered in front of the prison’s warden, Roldán Fonseca de Rivera. He was just as corrupt and vile as you’d expected, leading you to believe that the problem was everywhere.

The first days were an adjustment, especially when you met a couple of the people you’d helped put there. But that didn’t mean finding the culprits was difficult. The warden’s right-hand man, a mountainous brute named Sergej Markovic, had a reputation for beating his enemies to death. Unfortunately, before you could deal with him you had to deal with your restricted movement and lack of weapons.

Both were solved with the arrival of The Shadow King. During your little meeting, he offered you a place in his little organization, along with a transfer out. Unfortunately, it all turned out to be a ruse, as the warden explained once you’d been released from your cells. He’d just posed at the king to lure you into the exercise yard. There, you had to deal with Sergej and scores of other prisoners. As you made ready to defend yourselves, the warden made good his escape. So it was decided to let a few heroes go after the warden while the rest dealt with the riot in the courtyard.

Those who followed the warden discovered that his office was filled with little trophies all related to adventures you’d been on previously. From there it was a quick chase to the warden’s secret exit. You thought you might have missed him given the locked door. But once you got it open, you discovered someone else had taken care of matters for you.

Those who didn’t follow found themselves in the fight of a lifetime, but battered, bruised, and in a few cases, unconscious, you finally brought Sergej down. Finally, order had been restored, and the guilty had been brought to justice.

The next day, Sandoval’s Guard—under the direction of Corporal Dañela Blanco de Ojeda and her assistant, Miguel Balaguer—took command of the prison. As for you, you received a special commendation from Don Diego Ruiz de Ontiveros for your “service to the city of Altamira and the people of Rancho Soldano.”