The Rake's Report 001

Session Report for 06/28/2025

The following is a play report for session 1 of my latest campaign in Nighthaven using Shadowdark. The story you are about to read is true and names have not been changed so that the innocent and guilty may receive their just desserts.

Nighthaven is like a corrupted heart. The innocent and unsuspecting enter her walls through the arteries of commerce and are expelled from them infected with her disease, rotting from the inside out. I, the Rake, know their stories for my eyes and ears are omnipresent and always observing. One such innocent soul is the young lord Thomas Foss. He set out for Nighthaven in his father’s carriage, a detachment of five men-at-arms in his company, to meet and retrieve his betrothed Thea for a grand wedding in the rolling hills of Emmelot to the South. Their trip was beset with all sorts of ill omens, the worst of which was a manticore just outside the borders of Cromwell’s Keep. The beast took the lives of three men and left the other two grievously wounded. Though Foss was troubled by events thus far, he had no idea that the worst was still in front of him. Still, things looked up when he found two itinerant warriors waiting in the assessor’s line at the gates of Nighthaven.

In point-of-fact, the warriors were the ones to approach him. An odd pairing, these two warriors. The first was a former scholar, Argonne de Gasse, who found that his love of swordplay and penchant for heroics outweighed his desire for knowledge. The second was a mysterious young man. He had been brought up as a traveling minstrel but likewise found himself drawn to violence as a trade. While his companion Argonne was drawn to the thrill and challenge of swordplay, he was drawn to the feeling of power that one gets from catching an opponent unaware and killing him before he even realizes what’s happening. If the young minstrel ever had a name, he abandoned it long ago. Now, he insists on being called “Ghostblade.” A few have laughed at him for being so macabre with his nom de guerre, but those few are dead now. Fortunately for all present, Ghostblade is wise enough to allow his more genial companion to speak for him. Indeed, Argonne was able to secure both of them passage and payment by volunteering their services to young Foss who paid the duty for himself and his retainers to the city in advance. A mutually beneficial arrangement to be sure, but entropy always finds a way to strike from the cover of serendipity.

Upon arrival at the city gates, a Guard Sergeant boarded the carriage to send Lord Foss immediately to the Gate District Garrison to meet with Captain Carver. Along the way, the carriage stopped at The Sellsword’s Mission of Kador so that the two injured men-at-arms could receive treatment. Argonne accompanied the wounded man and spoke with the mission’s rector, Brother Clement. From the young priest Argonne learned that the Gate District of Nighthaven was being haunted by what was surely a monster, but the Guard was not responding in an appropriate manner. The city ought to be in full lockdown as the Guard ferreted out the monster but instead the Guard was behaving as if the violence was a set of unconnected killings or, at worst, the work of a human killer. Brother Clement beseeched Argonne for help, bemoaning his lack of resources for handling a monster while affirming his duty as a Soldier of Kador to fight evil. Argonne told him that he would have to confirm with his companions but that he would return on the morrow with an answer.

At the Garrison, Clement’s paranoia was confirmed as Captain Carver informed Lord Foss that his betrothed had gone missing and that the Guard was doing everything in its power to find her. Our pair of warriors also came face-to-face with Lieutenant Lionel Simm, the Hammer of the Streets. Ghostblade’s impulsive reaction to Simm’s stony demeanor almost created an incident, but he once again yielded to his level-headed companion. When pressed, Simm gave little away but did inform Argonne that the brutal murders were the probable work of a monster and that the reasons for not initiating a Corpse Walk were political. Before they departed, Simm warned them that they should be careful in their pursuit of this matter, but that he would assist them where he could. What began as a means of passage through the city gates and some quick coin was swiftly evolving into an ordeal.

Lord Foss was distraught by the news, of course. He had lived a charmed 24 years with few tragedies and suddenly his fiance was missing in a city where a monster was running rampant and the Guard was seemingly more focused on making sure nobody figured out the truth rather than exterminating the beast. Left with no other option, he summoned his new companions and asked them to name their price for finding his beloved alongside his remaining man-at-arms, Captain Garret, who would serve as his witness that the job was done. Argonne and Ghostblade were merciful, asking for only 100 Gold Pieces with 25 paid up-front. Time will tell if this streak of altruism will be a weakness or a strength. After a night’s sleep in a comfortable inn, the two swordsmen set out for The Sellsword’s Mission to commit their services to Brother Clement. He showed them two new victims who had arrived overnight. One of them was wounded but pulling through. The other had suffered a bite from the creature and was being monitored to see if he turned, for Brother Clement believed the creature to be a fledgling Vampire. Argonne spoke to the wounded man and discovered that he was a 10 of Batons from The Knave Syndicate and that he received his wounds protecting his King from the creature. The 10, identifying himself as Kimbo, told them to go speak with his King and Bower at The Royal Flush Club for further information. Brother Clement suggested that they seek out the old monster hunter Willem the Stalker for detailed information on Vampires. Our twin protagonists set out to find the Stalker. I shall continue to observe their actions closely…