Special: Village of Braddol 4, 5

THE SEA-GHOST

Summer, 4433

Characters:

Tarr the Younger, archer 1

Xasan Karimov, barbarian 1

Lothryk Bjargson, cleric of Njord 1

Ryoga, incantor 1

Krom, fighter 1

Arkane Gnossienne, cleric of Anubis 1

Katamtaman Toxotai, archer 1

Philip, fighter 1 (NPC)

Samuel Browne, fighter 1 (NPC) R.I.P.

"Bloody" Bjorn, fighter 3 (NPC)

Zhalgas, fighter 3 (NPC)

Avast!

The group hatches a plan with Samuel Browne to ambush his former smuggler comrades, using the signal chart found in the Haunted House.

Using a rented fishing boat, the party poses as the smugglers they only recently killed, with the turncoat Samuel in front. When the ship, the Sea Ghost arrives, they sail out with half their group covered by tarps.

This ruse allows most of the group to get onboard before the smugglers realize something is wrong and a battle breaks out!

The fight quickly becomes a swirling back-and-forth struggle. The enterprising Ryoga begins barricading doors to prevent reinforcements. Half the group gets webbed while Xasan, Philip and Samuel chase down the first mate Bloody Bjorn. From the other direction, Captain Sigurd blazes a one-man trail of destruction across the deck nearly killing several people, and Tarr takes bowshots at targets everywhere.

The battle turns when Tarr kills the wizard Punketah, Samuel convinces Bjorn to join the group, and Sigurd is slain in a desperate melee with Xasan, backed up by Tarr's bowshots. The appearance of more foes from belowdecks only prolongs the inevitable.

At this point three hooded and cloaked figures break through a door Ryoga had barred. One conjures poisonous snakes from out of his eyeballs (?!) and all 3 make for the fishing boat with one of the smugglers.

Samuel is bitten by one of the poisonous snakes. Feeling the icy touch of death, he seizes the asp in one hand and dives headfirst into the fishing boat, hoping to take some of the fleeing foes with him! For a smuggler, he went out heroically.

A torrent of bowshots and some flaming oil kill a few, while a thrown rope snares the boat. One of the cloaked men flees in the water, one is dead and the third held by his own reflected spell.

Now in possession of the ship, the group gets Bjorn to show them around. They find plenty of treasure and clues.

They free the prisoner Zhalgas, a desert warrior on a pilgrimage from the Holy Cities.

They interrogate the cloaked man they captured, who turns out to be a cultist of Set. Using a clever trick they persuade him to talk, and learn of a magical relic called the Chalice of Aldren, already in possession of the Setites somewhere in Viridistan!

The group has a ship, a pirate crew, a hold full of cargo and a mystery to solve. What else could a 1st-level adventurer ask for?

Enemies Defeated (853 xp):

8 smugglers (150 xp)

captain Sigurd (260 xp)

Punketah the conjuror (100 xp)

Foul Frithof (65 xp)

2 asps (78 xp)

2 sinister robed guys (200 xp)

Treasure Found: 

various silverware, jugs etc (500 sp)

banded chest: locked

brass-bound chest: locked

500 sp inside

captain's potions: (already noted)

sea charts (nice to have)

crew's chests: pack of playing cards, 2 sets of dice, address book filled w/ladies' names

parrot: a magical talking bird from a far-off land (value unknown)

longsword (magical)

wand (magical)

ring (magical)

assorted coins, jewelry, gems (553 sp, 7 cp)

Note to Captain from *"Black Leaf"*

Crude drawing of jeweled goblet

demonic statue

box that rattles with coins (unopened)

box with a... voice inside? (unopened)

In the Cargo Hold:

90 bolts of silk

81 brandy casks

219 wine casks

3 casks of soap

1 cask of salt

[Treasure values posted when you sell it all off in Viridistan, see downtime thread!]

Experience:

Lothryk is capped at 1565 before treasure XP, and needs to train!

Sessions 45-46

THE MIDSUMMER PARTY

Harvestime 2-3 4433

Characters:

Cassia, fighter 3

Finrod, elf 3

Salzige, necromancer 4

Black Phalaros, necromancer 3

Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 4

Robert the Unsociable, fighter 5

Xénos, assassin 4

Uriah Sunstrife, paladin 2

NPC - Lord Fesgate, Fighter 4

NPC - Vasu Cervantes, Fighter 2

For Those Unable to Attend:

You missed the social event of the season!

The Night Wolf Inn's midsummer garden party was a rousing success. Financed from the Guild's own coffers and the contributions of dues-paying members like you! 

This was one of the most successful gatherings in the Guild's history:

The party had 872 attendees over the course of three days. Over 2,000 meals were served; 1,400 pints of beer poured; 128 bouts of wrestling, armoured and unarmoured melee; 350 arrows fired; 210 spears thrown; 59 prizes awarded; 0 deaths and only 1 disappearance!

Read on to learn more about the experiences of our Guild members at this year's party:

Day 1

The group arrives with old Olayinka, who thanks them and walks off to meet her old friends and set up shop. 

The opening ceremony is marred only by the presence of the local tax-collection bureaucracy. Finrod's interruption and the legal acumen of Mr. Blackrest put these troubles to rest swiftly, but the party may have made an enemy.

Cassia and Finrod join the Guild for free. Daqqa-Jin gets a magical tattoo at great expense that grants him a magic shield for a limited time.

The party meets the salt merchant Thando, now prosperous, who tells them to see him later. They buy some astral dust, then some magical cigarettes from a slug-man. They bid on some treasure maps at auction, but don't win them.

Many characters join the contests of skill and arms, most progress up the leader boards to the next day.

Some wild wood elves arrive, and after a tense moment they are welcomed. They brought ominous warnings of evil forces entering the forest and humans despoiling their grave-sites.

Salzige and Finrod get alcohol poisoning at the drinking contest, coming nowhere close to winning. Cassia and Uriah do well at the singing contest. Daqqa-Jin tries his hand at Evocation, watches other players get cursed and walks away with a bit of money himself.

The group investigates the library, speaks to a kindly old man doing research, and is asked a strange question by a talking bust of Asmodeus (shudder!). They learn a few clues about the cellars.

In the smoking room, they hear the mounted animal heads chant a strange song which Rain magically translates for them.

Assorted rumours and chatter was heard from other attendees, too much to write down here.

Day 2

When the party wakes up, Salzige is missing! Finrod has a note in his pocket: 

"You know what to do. -B"

The Inquisition is at it again! The party concocts a plan with James to bring some fake "stolen information" to Bolivar to get their friend back. We will see how it works later on.

Daqqa-Jin wrestles TORG the ogre and wins! He gains a potion of heroism as a prize and moves on to day 3. Cassia and Uriah both lose at dueling in extremely close matches. All those in other contests of skill continue.

At the auction, Finrod wins an expensive mithril ingot, useful!

The group goes fishing and is almost eaten by a giant carp.

Other guild members come up to the party asking questions - almost like a fan club. The party tells the story of the Four Winds Bar and Daqqa-Jin demonstrates its power, and they relate their adventures in the cellars. The low-level rookies are suitably impressed.

A notice board is tacked with signs, including advertisements for adventurers wanted and announcements of brave expeditions.

Uriah does incredibly well at the singing/oratory contest, reciting an ancient hunting poem of his people. He has a strong chance of winning on the final day.

Black Phalaros has not done much so far, but decides to try Evocation, and plays an entire nine hands at a prestige table! Not only does he win some good money but he draws a mystical combination and is warded against death for a month. The entire tavern watched this event in rapt attention, he is developing a reputation as a savvy gambler in the Guild.

Late at night, the party watches a fight in the ballroom, where a barbarian fights a massive illusionary dragon and loses (badly). They learn how the ballroom works.

Blessedly sober, the group goes to sleep in preparation for...

Day 3

At the auction, many wondrous items are sold. Finrod buys a magical Everfull Purse of gold.

Thando finds the group and thanks them with 6,000 silver worth of jewelry!

Phalaros buys the magical book Evocations of the Doomed City for a kingly sum. This book will summon up the mythical lost City of Brass.

Nobody wins the archery, spears or knife contests, but several prizes are won for placing: free time in a few Inn rooms, and maps to points of interest within. One map is for Room I, and will surely be useful in the war against the Mad King.

Daqqa-Jin loses his wrestling match but wins several magic potions for making 3rd place.

Uriah wins the oratory contest and chooses a pack of IOUN stones, getting tremendously good results!

In the smoking lounge at the end of the night, the Guild VIPs are playing a high-stakes card game when a horde of monsters emerge from the woods! Even James seems shaken by this development - the whole Guild is in danger!!!

Treasure Gained:

jewelry box (6000 sp)

Experience Gained:

none

Sessions 42-44

RETURN TO FORT BEHRINGER

Thistleburn 19, 4433

Characters:

Daqqa-Jin, Barbarian 4

Robert the Giantslayer, Fighter 5

Xénos, assassin 4

Uriah, paladin 2

Young Joe Spruce, Druid 3

Mardonius, Magic-User 3

NPC - Lord Fesgate, Fighter 4

NPC - Vasu Cervantes, Fighter 2

NPC - The Behringer Boys: Otto, Hans, Stefan, Leonhard

For Eric!

The Wretched Company (joined by the young daredevil Vasu Cervantes, and his M-U friend Mardonius) returned to the Moonlit Zone to liberate Fort Behringer.

With clever ploys they ambushed a starving gnoll patrol and drew a large part of the main gnoll army out of the castle. A flying Mardonius dropped flaming oil to sow chaos inside the fortress. At the right time, the party rushed an abandoned spot on the walls and climbed up into the fort, then Young Joe Spruce cast an entangle spell to further tie up the gnolls.

Xénos boldly followed the fleeing giant Kucmalog up the tower, Robert close behind. The assassin caught the giant in the highest rooms of the tower, but his strike fell short of causing instant death. Robert caught up in time to back him up and the troublesome moon-giant was slain.

The group was almost trapped by the gnolls, but decisive and bold action by Uriah led to a one-on-one duel to the death against their chief Trorgezz. The paladin prevailed [I don't know how! He was a 6th level monster with a magic weapon! Seker smiled on you that day. -DM] and the rest of the gnolls fled confusedly out of the fortress, hungry and lacking leadership.

The party swiftly looted the fortress, except a few ancestral Behringer pieces, and Daqqa-Jin flew back to Rauffe's camp to gather the troops. 

The group discovered a magic mirror and saw many sights with it including the real Sage of Lune, replaced by an impostor and imprisoned - on the moon?!

Meanwhile, Daqqa-Jin was leading the rebels through the forest when they encountered some black-robed priests of Uthummaos, whom he spoke to briefly before blasting them all with the Four Winds Bar's lightning.

The victorious party was visited by an emissary of the Carrion King, who congratulated them and provided a way to contact him in the future, since it seemed they were "going places."

The company returned to the Ruined Town in an effort to right old wrongs: they restored most of the missing pieces in the Solaris shrine (only a halo and some kind of large piece are missing). Daqqa-Jin proclaimed for Karttekeza, sacrificing a valuable black sapphire in an effort to replace the gems taken long ago, then turning the shrine's water back on, washing the evil mud that infested it away. The god's influence is spreading back into the world.

Liberation!

The group returned to the Forgotten Village and discovered it occupied by the Mad King's troops, and their ally Shandril held captive by the traitorous, one-handed sergeant Baran.

Xénos once again showed his skills, shanking Baran through a window as the rest of the group held his attention.

Mike, upon learning Xénos has 17 STR: "and they called him... the Creatine Kid!"

Shandril was rescued and a pitched battle took place through the city streets and fields. These troops were fairly weak and no match for the Company. After more than half their number were slain including all their leadership, the rest surrendered and agreed to join the rebel cause [great reaction roll!]. From now on, some of the flowers grown in the village would be skimmed off and sent northward to the rebels, while the rest go south to the Mad King's troops.

The group left with many new options, clues and plans, but first: selling treasure back in Viridistan!

Monsters Defeated (4229 xp)

Kucmalog, Moon-Giant (1560)

Trorgezz, Gnoll chieftain (680)

1 Gnoll sergeant (100)

10 Gnolls (470)

1 gray ooze (80)

4 moon-moths (284)

Baran (460)

19 king's troops (190)

3 clerics of Uthummaos (405)

8 clerics of Uthummaos (1080 - Daqqa-Jin only)

Treasure Found:

sack of gold coins (200)

sack of gold coins (500)

gold belt buckle (250 sp)

silver crescent blades (200 sp each)

gold ring, studded with diamonds (2200 sp)

7 LARGE silver trade bars (7000 sp total)

giant-sized platemail (4000 sp)

giant-sized shimmering robe (1200 sp)

finely crafted 2-handed sword (1000 sp)

gem-encrusted peacock pimp chain (2200 sp)

black sapphire gem (2000 sp)

altar-stone of solaris [replaced in shrine]

3 metal angel halos [replaced in shrine]

12 holy symbols [10 donated - 2 kept]

seal of uthummaos (magical) [kept]

scroll of protection vs. undead

gold dust of heroism

sparkling moon-moth dust (as web spell)

red & white luckstone

one-handed flail +1

Lion's Blade +0

giant's dagger (shortsword +1)

greatsword +2/+4, frost brand

giant 2-handed mace +2, 13 STR to wirld, casts knock 1/week

velvet jewelry box with fly candy (magical - from carrion king)

Treasure Shares:

100 gp, 3375 silver to each player character

50 gp each to Vasu and Lord Fesgate

[XP totals posted when I get back from work]