Easter Special

THE SEVEN KNAVES

Meeting on the Road

Three wanderers ambled along a cliffside highway after sunset:
Tarasz Lobodou - a handsome Cossack wearing expensive boots and a feathered hat;
Wilhelm Rudd - a sure-footed, sharp-eyed Dutchman with a crossbow, at home in the wilderness;
and 
Zenzi - formerly an innkeeper, this German was now pursuing his education in arcane sciences, while carrying a sack full of grenades.

Tarasz, introducing himself: "People outside Zaporizia can't pronounce my name very well."
Zenzi: "Yes, and those inside don't want to!"

Having just been turned out of Oberwalden village by the sullen residents, they were on their way to the next town and the next adventure when they came upon an old moss-covered stone cross by the roadside. A dishevelled vagrant slept beneath it, his hat over his face. Tarasz shook him and he woke with a start of fear, only relaxing when he noticed the group wasn't hostile.

The tramp introduced himself as Bernard, explaining that he had been begging for alms at a house up the road when he was set upon by a gang of toughs who took what little money he had and gave him a thrashing for his troubles - they posted a few guards on the road by a stone arch, so he wouldn't come back. 

Moved by the poor man's plight, Tarasz gave him a few coins [+1 Virtue]. The group thought they might investigate these ruffians to see the truth of his story.

But first, Wilhelm's keen eyesight spotted a distant red glow in the nearby forest and the group decided to investigate, with Bernard in tow. Walking along a narrow path through pine forests that have never known a woodsman's axe, they came to a small patch of glowing red mushrooms with fireflies dancing above. Each adventurer took a piece, and the glow persisted after they had been picked.

The forest path continued past the mushrooms until the group came upon a small mountain lake (more of a pond, really) surrounded by rushes. A cave opening in some rock formations was visible beyond. Peering into the water, Zenzi noticed a yellow glow amongst the weeds at the lake's bottom. Wasting no time, Tarasz stripped to the waist, set his sword & pistol carefully aside, held a dagger in his teeth and dove into the water.

Lucky he was to bring a weapon, as the brave Cossack was immediately attacked by a gigantic man-eating frog! The horrid beast almost swallowed him whole, and only swift action with his main-gauche allowed escape. Meanwhile two more of the creatures leapt towards the group on the shoreline, one almost swallowing Bernard whole.

While Tarasz swam for dear life, a keen-eyed crossbow shot by Wilhelm and a blast from one of Zenzi's grenades taught the other amphibious predators a lesson. Making it to the shore just ahead of his pursuer, Tarazs managed to put a final bullet in it a split-second before it bit him again! After the fight, Tarasz swam down and recovered a glowing golden cross from the bottom of the lake while Wilhelm managed to treat Bernard's wounds [a very lucky Medicine roll!].

In the cave was a tomb, showing an armoured man and an inscription: Von Oberwalden. Part of the carving was movable and had a place for a key or signet of some kind. Zenzi made an impression of the symbol, but lacking any such key the group moved on.

The House

Emerging from the woods, the party espied a moss-covered stone farmhouse across the road. Cheery light shone from its windows and the sounds of song & merry-making could be heard. Further back up the highway, a stone arch was visible against the starlight.

Deciding on a 'divide-and-conquer' strategy, Wilhelm snuck through the woods while the rest of the group walked up the road with a lantern towards the stone arch. Lurking in the trees, Wilhelm could hear the two guards playing dice and grumbling about their posting.

Tough 1: "We have to sit out here, watching out for that bum! Meanwhile Raoul and the lads are drinking in a nice warm cabin. Pfaugh!"
Tough 2, notices the party appraching: "Oh, what's this? Mayhap we've got some relief after all."

But it was not to be. As the party got close enough to recognize, Tarasz whipped out a pistol and the game was up. Caught by surprise, they considered their options but were thoroughly demoralized to see Wilhelm emerge from the trees at their flank, crossbow levelled. The toughs were forced to admit they had robbed Bernard, were interrogated, then bound & gagged and left in a roadside ditch. The beggar was overjoyed to get his handful of coppers back [+1 Virtue for everyone].

Tough 1: "As a good Christian, you wouldn't shoot an unarmed man?"
Tarasz, brandishing pistol: "Mayhap I'll send you to G-d and let him be the judge of that!"

The group learned very little except the gang's leader was a rich gentleman named Raoul, and something important was happening tonight. 

As the party returned to the house, the Oberwalden church bell tolled ten o'clock. The sounds of merriment still issued from inside. Listening carefully, Wilhelm felt sure there were no more than six men inside. The stables held only a fierce-looking, night-black warhorse nobody dared approach. The party decided to lie in wait for a while, reasoning that after all this drinking somebody would have to come outside to relieve themselves.

Half an hour later, their patience was rewarded when a shabbily-dressed thug stumbled out towards the forest. Tarasz and Zenzi crept up on him carefully, the latter preparing to cast a spell on him: The Mirror of Narcissus.

Zenzi's player: "And just as he whips it out, I step forward and meet his eyes..."
Tarasz's player: "I take some small steps back from the scene."

Failing his Temptation save, Witless Heinz (for so he was called) saw Zenzi for a simple rogue just like himself, happily having a few drinks. He spilled the whole story: Raoul was a tough & fearsome leader who sometimes ventured into the woods all alone and showed signs of knowing magic (his boots were shoed in reverse). He had told the gang that an important visitor was arriving tonight, commanding them to return to the house at eleven o'clock. The group sent Heinz back inside with a commandment to keep silent about them [he made a Temptation save to keep his mouth shut, another of the company's lucky rolls this night!].

The group heard Oberwalden's church bells ring out eleven as they deliberated on their next move. Finally they decided on the direct approach: Zenzi threw a grenade through the window while the rest of the group charged in through the stable door! There was the crash of gunpowder, screams of agony & fear, fire and smoke. Tarasz spotted the rogue Raoul standing in the front doorway, lace spilling from his cuffs. The black-clad Spaniard held up a crystal globe which seemed to absorb Tarasz's mind, drawing his whole consciousness towards it - but the Cossack's will was stronger than this black magic and he resisted. Inside, Wilhelm cut down some Frenchman who tried to blast him with a blunderbuss, while Bernard went wild with a club in the confusion & smoke.

Seeing things were turning against him, Raoul tried to flee down the highway, but Tarasz managed to hit him with a flying tackle, knocking the crystal sphere from his hand just as Zenzi came around the corner! Together the two of them subdued the rogue.

As the smoke cleared, Wilhelm saw that poor Witless Heinz had been laid low by Bernard in the latter's zeal to punish the ruffians who robbed him. Taking pity on the fool, he saw to his injuries [another great Medicine roll, and +1 Virtue!].

The Visitor

With the villains subdued, the group searched the house and interrogated Raoul. They found a few Pfennigs on the ruffians, and Zenzi took Raoul's spare set of fancy black clothes, putting them on so he resembled the dashing criminal.

Searching Raoul was illuminating: the party found a catalogue of grave sins (murder, arson, etc), each one signed by himself and another called Goodfriend. The man was tough-minded and resisted interrogation, but the group did manage to get a few details out of him - the mysterious midnight visitor was to be the Devil himself, with whom Raoul would make a bargain most foul!

A plan began to form. The group tied Raoul to a tree outside and cleaned up the house as best they could. Zenzi carefully cut Raoul's moustache off and stuck it to his own lip. 

As midnight tolled, the clatter of wheels and neighing of horses could be heard. An elegant black carriage pulled by four fierce chargers pulled up to the small country house. Its driver was obscured by a cloak & broad hat, with clouds of red sparks issuing from beneath as if exhaled by a furnace. Stepping jauntily out of the coach, dressed in an elegant vest & monocle was the sooty-faced Devil, horns and all! 

He rapped sharply on the door and Zenzi invited him in. "Ah, nice to see you again Raoul. Do you look a bit different...? No matter." Whether Zenzi's hasty disguise had fooled the demon [another fantastic roll this night!] or all men looked much the same to him was unclear.

"You have the papers?" Zenzi produced Raoul's paperwork and Goodfriend reiterated the terms: worldly fame, wealth, magical power & skill at the Devil's Bible (playing cards) in exchange for a sequence of heinous crimes... and one immortal soul! After signing the contract, Zenzi really didn't feel any different, but Goodfriend said the changes would take effect the next day. He offered to do deals with the rest of the group, but when they weren't interested he bid everyone farewell, jumped into his carriage and was gone with a clatter of hooves.

Return to the Crypt

After this, Raoul gave up some of his secrets under intense pressure from Wilhelm [torturing a captive, uh oh, -1 Virtue!]. The group was able to recover his treasure - a lockbox with some coins and a signet ring showing a snake coiling around a sphere - the same symbol as in the Von Oberwalden tomb.

Returning to the forest cave, the signet ring unlocked a deeper passage inside. Descending the stairs, Tarasz just barely avoided a hidden spear-trap [lucky save!]. At the bottom was a large stone coffin with a carving of a bearded man with a mace & shield, while four moldering coffins lined the walls. 

Opening the sarcophagus revealed an ancient armoured corpse with a sword on its chest, holding a scroll-case. When Zenzi's Faithful Servant spell retrieved the scroll, the sword rose into the air and attacked! A tense struggle ensued but with Zenzi's quick thinking, a chunk of coffin-wood and Wilhelm's net, the sword was thrown back into the sarcophagus and the lid slammed shut.

Opening the scroll case revealed an ancient paper: The Testament of the von Oberwaldens. This ancient will seemed to indicate that anyone who held it and the signet ring is the true and rightful master of Castle Oberwalden and the whole valley around it!

With this new windfall, the group wonders what strange escapades might come next?

The Catalogue of Sins:

Tarasz - offered charity to Bernard (+1 Virtue)
Everyone - returned Bernard's stolen money (+1 Virtue each)
Wilhelm - showing mercy, healing Witless Heinz (+1 Virtue)
Wilhelm - torturing Raoul (-1 Virtue)
Zenzi - using Student spells (-1 Virtue)
Zenzi - making a pact with the Devil (-3 Virtue)

Tarasz: +2
Wilhelm: +1
Zenzi: -3

Zenzi's future...?

Experience:

Defeating 3 giant frogs (300 xp)
Defeating Raoul and his gang (550 xp)
Tricking Goodfriend (650 xp)
Unlocking the Oberwalden's tomb (250 xp)
Obtaining the Testament of the von Oberwaldens (400 xp)
Bernard survived the adventure (50 xp)

2200 total - 733 each

Treasure:

glowing golden cross
handfuls of Pfennigs, one gold Thaler
Raoul's crystal globe
looted blunderbuss
von Oberwalden signet ring
the Testament of the von Oberwaldens

Session 24

 A SAILOR'S LIFE FOR ME...

Sunstrong 3-7, 4433

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Robert the Swift, fighter 4
Suba-Jin the Three-Handed, cleric 4
Xénos, spy 1

Late Night in the Hood

The group lurked on The Bridge, one of Viridistan's rougher neighbourhoods. They had subdued a thug from the Coffin Masters gang and browbeat him into showing them his hideout, in the hopes of finding the missing stonemason Sesto. 

Suba-Jin convinced a local drunk to let them into his home, and from that vantage the group surveyed the alley for the rest of the night, tracking the gang's activities. In addition to groups of thugs coming and going, some strange characters passed by:

- a tall, fat Orichalan whose breath fogged in the warm night, with 5 cloaked & masked figures following in lock-step;

- a tough-looking adventuring party (two fighters, two thieves, an M-U & probably a cleric) led by a tall, steely-eyed Skandik warrior in plate armour with piercing blue eyes and a frightening countenance;

- a short, wiry fighting-man covered in a cowl, with scaly reptilian skin.

The night passed fitfully for Robert, who couldn't sleep properly and was left tired and edgy [-1 to all rolls]. After watching this procession of strange characters throughout the night, the group decided that Sesto wasn't actually that big of a priority and they had business elsewhere.

Back to the Night Wolf Inn 

The group returned to the inn outside the Great Wall, bringing the recuperating Eric Withakay and Lord Fesgate along in their wagon. The tavern was packed full of patrons in the midafternoon: 

- snow-white warrior women with wild hair, black war-paint & minimal clothing [first met back in Session 7] 

- red-skinned, bare-chested Altanian barbarians from the edge of the Empire; and 

- a group of men wearing polished, elaborately fluted plate armour, sort of resembling Avalonians, with solar iconography on their equipment.

A floor show was absorbing the whole tavern's attention: a blue-haired elven woman of spellbinding beauty was singing ballads in a foreign language, accompanied with her mandolin. Her playing was masterful, even if many patrons were only enraptured by her looks.

The group mingled for a while. Gorr searched through the brick storage room behind the bar and found liquor bottles of every type & description, most of which he had never heard of before. He snapped up one that interested him, deciding not to explore down the spiral staircase to the cellars below.

When the bard's set was done to raucous applause, she left the stage to speak with the concierge. Robert and Suba-Jin joined their conversation. James introduced her as Rain, and the group noticed that her hair wasn't just blue but changed colours as the conversation went on, sometimes turning scarlet or pink.

Talk turned to a few odd events or characteristics of the Inn. Rain mentioned two points of interest:

- a trapdoor in the floor of the stage that led to something dangerous below, and

- some non-guild members who had attempted to force the eastern tavern door, not understanding that the Inn prevented unauthorized entry that way.

At this point Robert & Suba-Jin decided to come clean about the Inquisition's pressure on them to spy around the Inn. James was keenly interested, but didn't seem too worried. He appreciated the group's candour and told them to simply tell the Inquisition the truth - the guild was an adventurer's organization dedicated to mutual benefit, with no political goals. Whether High Inquisitor Phaidros would be satisfied with that is another matter...

Before she left, Rain mentioned that she was looking forward to the Midsummer garden party, mentioning some sort of card game called Evocation. The group decided to search for a book on the subject in the Inn's library.

They wandered through a few strangely decorated rooms, marvelling at the odd iconography of wolves, stars, and other features. They found the two-story library piled high with tomes of every possible description. Gorr spotted the statue of an exotically-dressed woman labelled "Nisbal the Immortal, luthier of the Sunset Palace." Suba-Jin managed to grab a book on card games which mentioned Evocation.

From there the group proceeded to:

Room IV - Restful Seas

Cyan & copper clouds scudded through a pale pink sky. Beneath, a bright turquoise ocean stretched in all directions. Searching the room uncovered some pirate costumes, a few cutlasses, more powder & shot for Suba-Jin's revolver - and a travelogue scrawled on weathered paper:

"We had been searching for sunken treasures in the gray sandbars that surround the room's furniture, following a rumour overheard in the tavern. A great storm came up from the ocean and drove us far off our course, to the north. During the storm, the huge glass lens Olayinka had picked up in the attic was swept overboard. She had been using it to study the stars, and was bitter about the loss.  

When the gale finally ended we found ourselves far outside the sandbars, in deep ocean. We patched up the ship, and traded our remaining goods at native villages along the shores of several islands. Some villages were friendly, but others were hostile and the natives attacked on sight. I suspect the hostile villages were filled with cannibals.

We skirted the coastline of a vast island, until we reached a peninsula cut off from the main island by a massive stone wall. We were well received by the natives of Tanoroa, the small village that guards this wall. The villagers call the larger island The Isle of Dread. Their own peninsula is known simply as "Home."

The villagers told us a tale about an ancient city in the central highland of the isle that was built by the same people who built the wall. The villagers call the builders "the gods", but I noticed that the names of the gods and the personal names of the clan ancestors were often the same, so I suspect that their ancestors and the builders were one and the same. I believe that the natives once possessed much more advanced culture and that the descendants of the builders have returned to a more primitive state.

The inland city is rumoured to be filled with treasure beyond imagining. In particular, I heard persistent tales concerning a great "black pearl of the gods" that still remains in the inland city. The island waters abound with excellent pearl beds, so the rumour of the black pearl may well be true.

The village contains a number of huge life-like statues of iron, bronze, and stone. Since no villager currently has the skill or the craft to make such statues, the tale of a lost city built by 'the gods' seems reasonable. I would have liked to explore inland to verify the rumours, but too many of my fellows died in the storm or by cannibal spears. Only five of us are left. I am the only experienced adventurer, the others are only hirelings. We can sail the small catamaran well enough but on land, in hostile territory, we would be helpless.

Once back at the Night Wolf Inn I should be able to recruit a party of professional adventurers, then I will return to claim the great black pearl.

One thing I managed to do before leaving: we sailed around the peninsula & the southeastern edges of the island and made the best map we could. We were afraid to land, since village fishermen had warned us that it was extremely dangerous to land anywhere on the main island and the coasts were rocky with no beaches. As a result, the map only shows the coastal areas we could chart from the ship. But it is better than nothing."

- Rory Barbarossa

A crude map was included:

After a night's sleep, the group took the catamaran and headed north to this mysterious and vast island. [It was around this time that my computer crashed.]

After most of a day sailing north, a few small islands came into view. Perhaps they were the southern islands shown on the map? The group made landfall at the smallest one and entered the jungle.

They encountered a group of svelte, ethereal women in the jungle with greenish hair and bark-like skin, speaking an unknown language. The group attempted to communicate. The women led the way to a cave in the jungle, indicating the group should enter.

Inside the cave, old dusty bones lay on stone blocks. In a low-ceilinged chamber decorated with violent cave-paintings, two smooth stone slabs covered ancient graves. Pulling the slabs aside revealed shriveled, mummified bodies wearing jewelry of beaten gold. The party looted these treasures and all was well for a moment - until a cold & sinister light shone in the mummies' eyes, paralyzing the group with supernatural terror!

One of them seized Suba-Jin and rapidly drained the life-force from the unfortunate cleric. Robert was struck by the other. The group beat a hasty retreat and fought a running battle, Gorr showering the mummies with holy water & burning oil from a tree. At the beach beside their boat, the final blows were struck and the last of the restless dead fell beneath the ranger's darkly glowing axe.

The party had obtained some treasure from the ancient graves, but at a heavy price: Suba-Jin was one of their most dedicated and experienced members. Standing on the beach, they pondered their next move.

Monsters Defeated:

2 mummies (1720 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

circlet, goblet & bracelet of beaten gold
gold earring w/ ruby chips

Updates:

- There is a lot of information to read through around here! To make things easier I created a new tag called 'message from the concierge' which collects informational posts about the Night Wolf Inn so they're easier to find!

- Suba-Jin was killed in melee combat, and by an undead creature.
That means 2 new character classes are available:

The Barbarian - halfway between fighter and ranger. 1d12 hit points per level, wilderness skills and better saving throws make him hard to kill, but begins the game illiterate and gains levels slower than a fighter.

The Necromancer - Raise an army of skeletons, but the whole Empire probably hates you!

There is a new version of the Auto-Filling Character Sheet that includes these classes and a few other bug fixes. You can get it in the usual place (on the sidebar).

The Last Will & Testament of Suba-Jin the Three-Handed

To those who travelled with me, I hope my death was in service to our cause and not falling off a horse drunk. It is my wish that if I fell in combat, to not be raised in agreement with my beliefs. I serve at Hextor's side now.

In my belongings at the Night Wolf Inn you will find a warded chest, the passphrase is "Ogedei Khan". In it you will find all my worldly monies. 

Give a one-third share to the Church of Hextor to burn incense, slaughter a bull in my name, say prayers and the like. 

Give one-third share to have a party in my honour at Seven Visions. Anyone who wants to say a word or give a toast, burn incense, have a fist fight, or wrestle in my memory can drink or whore from that share. The value of these toasts or feats to be judged by one from my companions. 

A final one-third share to hire mourners, burn incense and to buy enough firewood to light a signal fire to send me and my belongings to the next world. In addition, to hire an artisan to create a fitting last image of who I was, hired at your discretion - a bas-relief, a poem, a mural or a song, and to place it as publicly as can be done, ie. an engraving at the church if they will allow, a mural at Seven Visions, hiring a couple of bards to sing a song around town, etc.

Send all the worldly goods I was wearing & using into the next world with me, may it serve me better in the battles to come. The holy cherries and apples may be taken by any of my companions. My falchion, returned to the church. Any mundane travelling goods can be taken. If any family, or lacking that Tharbrians wish to lay claim to them, they may take my horse, saddlebags and morin khuur, may Jaagan serve you well.

As for Eric's debt to me, he can burn an offering or serve a night watch with my corpse and consider the debt cleared.

Anything not mentioned that is solely mine, throw on my pyre.

[DM's Note - Bonus xp can be had for doing extra in-game things like this. Good work!]