Session 56

RETURN TO THE SAGE'S TEMPLE

Blackmoon 14-16, 4433

Characters:

Xénos, Assassin 5
Owen the Vitalizer, Cleric of Shang Ta 3

Uriah Sunstrife, Paladin of Seker 4

Salzige Brauen, Magic-User 4

Young Joe Spruce, Druid 5

Getorix, Magic-User 4

Cassia Tannin, Fighter 4

Finrod, Elf 4

To Question the Sage, Again

After dealing with some details in the Moonlit Zone and resting up, the group ventured westward to the Forgotten Village and then on to the Sage's Temple. They were not troubled by any passing foes during this time... the forest was ominously quiet.

They found the temple mostly as they remembered it, a tall rectangular structure covered in carvings, surmounted by a cupola dome. Scented smoke drifted from the shuttered windows, and it seemed deserted.

The party looked into the first level only enough to find the stairs upwards. They progressed through the top floor, discovering rooms both familiar and new. They were surprised by undead in a dead garden, but Phalaros' necromancy and Uriah's turning sorted them out quickly. 

After learning the undead command was of short duration and the creature would have to be destroyed in a few rounds:
Justin: "Just tell him to picture the bunny rabbits!"

They found the ritual room with a coffin of severed hands, but these proved more dangerous than before, animating and attempting to choke the group! They were turned and quickly sizzled in their coffin with several vials of holy water.

[The group visited some familiar rooms, no need to repeat everything. See the stories of the first visit]

The party found the three crone statues and attempted to trade their statistics, with some success [spending hero points helped here]. 

In a staircase room, they fought a brass soldier which was armed with a throwing discus, and had a sinister red glow in its eyes - the sage's guardians had been upgraded recently. This became clear when it exploded in flames after being destroyed! Salzige harvested a glowing, everburning magma-rock from the construct's remains.

The group ascended to the roof dome where they spoke with the False Sage, accompanied by nine more brass soldiers. Her manner was strange and unnerving as always, but things did not begin with hostilities. She convinced Finrod, Uriah, Getorix, Xénos, Owen, Salzige, Joe Spruce and Cassia to gaze into her moon-reflecting pool and experience a vision [Full report to come on these]. 

The only member of the party who didn't accept the offer was Black Phalaros, who had his own plans. 

Cassia asked "Show me your true face" and was greeted with a horrifying monster reflected back at her. As she was experiencing this vision, Phalaros carefully snuck up behind the False Sage and delivered a touch attack with a rigor mortis spell, paralyzing her for half an hour.

The fight was on! Ominous red light began to shine from the brass soldiers' eyes and a tense battle developed with the party carefully trying to dance around the deadly but slow-moving automatons, while the False Sage was carried to safety by another two. Several were destroyed, but things reached a crescendo of danger when the purpose of the magma-rock cores was revealed: three statues opened their mouths and breathed jets of flame, enveloping most of the group in an inferno!

[Lord have mercy I wish I had taken a screen cap of this moment.]

When the smoke cleared, Owen the Vitalizer was unconscious and Black Phalaros was nothing but a charred corpse [coming all the way down to -20 hit points!].

While they had winged the False Sage with some arrow fire, her brass soldiers lifted her on to the reflecting pool and they floated up through the cupola dome, disappearing up into the night sky!

The party knew that the crucial moment had arrived, and chose discretion. They hustled out of the room ahead of the pursuing brass soldiers, with Joe Spruce heroically dragging Owen behind him under a storm of discus-fire. After reaching (relative) safety outside the Moon Temple, the group packed their treasure out of Room I and returned to Viridistan to offload all their loot, identify magic items, study their treasures and plot their next move!

Stay tuned for:

- Treasure, magic item & XP breakdown post

- Black Phalaros' last will and testament

- Moon visions for everyone

- Downtime thread!

Sessions 47-48

THE PARTY: CONCLUSION!

Harvestime 4, 4433

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

Young Joe Spruce, druid 3

Uriah Sunstrife, paladin 2

Oddrick, cleric 3 of Odin

NPC - Lord Fesgate, Fighter 4

NPC - Vasu Cervantes, Fighter 2

The Inn is Under Attack!

A horde of creatures emerged from the woods and swarmed towards the Night Wolf Inn.

The Wretched Company sallied forth, along with several high-ranking Guild members to meet the foe and buy time for the Inn's employees and other noncombatants to get to safety. Deploying the Four Winds Bar and their spells, they cut through the enemy's ranks until the more powerful foes got closer, and then fought a delaying action for several minutes, eventually retreating into the Inn itself.

The Inn's magical defenses (a group of gargoyles in the shape of winged wolves) helped out, crunching through the weaker foes outside.

Meanwhile, Karakaël appeared in the tavern to report a horde of enemies rising up from below the Inn's cellars! The Wretched Company hurried downstairs to fight on this second front.

A horde of the same wretched creatures waited behind some locked portcullis gates. One of the 'leaders', a hideous and short fishlike entity, was able to speak. It addressed the party, asking for its "sister" Oolpoollib. The Wretched Company didn't know what to do, especially when the beasts produced several wood elves and a few unfortunate Guild members as hostages, including the young & helpless Ruby Stone!

The conversation was short and unproductive. The creature spoke harshly but cryptically about the Guild Master. 

Just when it seemed there was nothing anybody could do, terrible magics were unleashed. A few party members collapsed with crippling headaches while the monsters began to explode, unleashing a storm of blood & gore throughout the cellars. Waves of fire and lightning followed, destroying whole packs of creatures. The magical assault emanated from a stooped, cloaked figure leaning on a staff, surrounded by a dark halo of energy...

Was this the mysterious Inn Master?

Monsters Killed:

tons!!

Treasure Gained:

none

Experience:

[This is a "story award" for lack of a better term, based on character level and how many days of the festival characters attended. There was no opportunity to gain treasure, and the mass combat XP would have been divided among a huge number of allies. So this award is my thanks for showing up and trying out a different game session from the usual! This XP award is unique and breaks past training caps, just this once. It has already been added to your XP totals. - DM]

Cassia - 900 xp

Finrod - 900 xp

Salzige - 400 xp

Black Phalaros - 900 xp

Daqqa-Jin - 1200 xp

Robert - 1500 xp

Xénos - 1200 xp

Young Joe Spruce - 900 xp

Uriah Sunstrife - 600 xp

Oddrick - 300 xp

NPC - Lord Fesgate - 600 xp

NPC - Vasu Cervantes - 200 xp

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

Session 41

THE SHADOW MARKET

Thistleburn 14-19, 4433

Group 2:

Cassia, fighter 3

Salzige, necromancer 4

Black Phalaros, necromancer 3

Finrod, elf 3

Clif, elementalist 4

Owen the Vitalizer, cleric 2 of Shang Ta

Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2

A Nighttime Discovery

The group spent some time training and doing research around town. Clif got a Wand of Lightning from his mentor, which has an unknown number of charges. He asked if his mentor could cast some spells into his Ring of Spell Storing [details forthcoming on that, watch this space].

Finrod spent some time at the Hall of Records, discovering that Rogat's home is built above an old temple of Armadad Bog, the Viridian god. He cast Charm Person on the clerk, so future research will be easier to do without pesky bribes.

After dosing themselves with the Oil of Revelations, Finrod and Salzige found the path to the fabled Shadow Market! They met a water-seller pulling his wares on a donkey cart, but he wasn't too talkative. 

They purchased the foul-smelling Incense of Zalamphel for the necromancer Zalán. Then they brought the rest of the group and everyone explored the market, speaking to its strange denizens and seeing what was for sale. 

They ventured down an alley and found a bricked-up door, and spoke to the terse men on a large mansion's balcony. They spoke to a down-on-his luck weaponsmith named Tolvaj, who owes 50,000 silver in gambling debts. met a fortune-teller who is also a member of the Night Wolf Inn adventurers' guild, and considered having their fortunes read with her magical cards. They met a tattoo artist who examined Salzige's guild tattoo and told him that it magically tracks his location! They found a shrine of ringing bells, which provides astral travel services. The group perused a bookseller's wares, there were a few magical scripts for sale:

They spoke to some sages and hired them to do research (one on the Astral plane, the other to discern the curse upon the Coat of the Panther), and bought a few pinches of Ghostdust from one of them, a rather unsavory fellow. They discovered the secretive Cockatoo Club, and learned the Waterday password "barbaric gelatin" from Tolvaj while he was drunk. 

With all this new information, now Group 2 has plenty of leads to explore. Where will the nighted pathways of the city take them next?

Monsters Defeated:

none

Treasure Found:

none

Treasure Sold:

Cursed gem & box (already accounted for)

NOTES:

Owen the Vitalizer is capped and ready to train again to level 3! 

[Normally this won't happen. It is an artifact of him gaining so much XP in Session 40, before we instituted the new training rules.]

Session 40

RETURN TO THE UNDERCITY

Thistleburn 12-13, 4433

Characters:

Cassia Tannin, fighter 2

Salzige Brauen, necromancer 4

Black Phalaros, necromancer 3

Finrod, elf 3

Clif, elementalist 3

Owen the Vitalizer, cleric 1

Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 1

Wrath of the Black Cloud

The party stood in the hallway as a cloud of murky darkness swept out towards them from the sealed cabinet. Clif and Salzige tried to blast it with cold magic which seemed to have no effect, but it was eventually dispatched with a fire elementine, enchanted steel and Finrod's risky final strike with a torch. Salzige was knocked out by its icy touch, but after the battle he recovered quickly - the damage was but an illusion! What could be trusted in these rooms of shifting shadows?

The group resumed their search. In the sealed closet they found a confused & concussed fighting-man named Gaddock, the only survivor of the last group of thieves who came to plunder the house. They also picked up a nice black coat with some clues in the pocket [see #player-notes in the discord] and plucked some pieces of pure silver out of the hanging cobwebs.

Ascending to the roof, the party was ambushed by the final guardian idol, another hideous gargoyle! This one was brought low without too much trouble by a cooperative effort - newcomer Gaddock showed his bravery, charging it with only his mundane shield to knock it off-balance. 

After gaining the roof and surveying the area, the group scanned the neighbourhood and re-searched the house looking for anything they had missed. Finrod found a trapdoor to the basement under some stacked crates, and the group descended.

They found a few strange enigmas in the basement, and were haunted by spectral voices. In one corner, Clif spied an invisible chest hanging from the ceiling with chains. After taking it down, the brave elementalist tried to pry it open and was stabbed by a poison needle! 

With his skin rapidly turning purple, the party had little time to help. Salzige recalled an alchemist's shop nearby [with a combination of quick thinking and a lucky roll] and the group carried Clif there. They purchased a potion of Neutralize Poison and spoke to the proprietor a little bit, a strange old man named Hooktong Ash.

Next Door

After a badly-needed rest, the group returned to the Old City the next day.

They crossed from one house to the next, breaking their way into the neighbouring building through a bricked-up doorway. There were a few signs of habitation but nobody was around. They explored this dusty, abandoned building decorated everywhere with an aquatic theme. A few clues and some thorough searching revealed hidden treasures like gold coins, a bar of white metal (platinum!) and a strange potion decorated with eyes.

Again, they descended into the building's basement and explored. It was obvious they had entered a section of the Undercity! They passed through a temple room with a massive stone stele, by a fountain with an old inscription, and through a windowed passage that looked out over a huge chamber below. 

Beneath them they could see a hive of beggars & madmen dressed in rags, living a degenerated existence beneath the city. Passing along they discovered a fresco of a strange door, but decided enough was enough - it was time to leave before getting into a dangerous confrontation!

Monsters Defeated:

cloud of darkness (345 xp)

gargoyle idol (555 xp)

Treasure Found:

black cat coat

silver seal

bat amulet

silk cloak

silver ore pieces

electrum coins (1950)

potion

scroll

silver lantern

gold coins (200)

platinum ingot

vial decorated with eyes

everburning brazier (keeping)

rainbow crystal in wooden box

Treasure Sold:

silver seal (600 sp)

silk cloak (50 sp)

silver ores (250 sp)

silver lantern (225 sp)

platinum ingot (1000 sp)

(more about the rest in downtime)

Congratulations for finding a huge amount of treasure in this area!

Each PC gets this payout:

This is a combination of coinage shares & selling off treasure.

28 gold
278 electrum
124 silver (310-186 for identifying magic items)

Clif is now level 4!

Owen the Vitalizer is now level 2, and his experience total is capped at 3,124, one point away from 3rd. (You can't gain two levels at a time)

Gaddock the Inebriated is now level 2!
Cassia is now level 3!

NOTES

Congratulations gang on reaching session 40!

Most D&D games last about 10% as long as this.

As discussed, we are taking a short break while your long-suffering DM rations his limited mental faculties towards school. Please see the #downtime-activities page on Discord for downtime notes, identifying items, town activity between sessions, etc. This will be updated sporadically as I have time.

Gaddock the Inebriated made a lucky roll on the Random Items table, and began play with a Potion of Levitation! We'll just say that he forgot he had it in his confusion after being stuffed into the closet. Mike, let me know if you'd like me to roll for a chance that Gaddock is psionic.

Session 39

IN SEARCH OF THE SHADOW MARKET

Thistleburn 12-13, 4433

Happy birthday to Owen The Vitalizer, now 24!

Characters:

Cassia Tannin, fighter 2

Salzige Brauen, necromancer 4
Black Phalaris, necromancer 3

Finrod, elf 3

Clif, elementalist 3

Owen the Vitalizer, cleric 1

It was a hot day in Viridistan. A summer monsoon had just blown in off Trident Gulf and anybody who could manage it was indoors. While some of The Wretched Company returned to the Night Wolf Inn, others stayed in the city to follow up on a request by the necromancer Zalán to find the elusive & mysterious Shadow Market.

They began searching the Old City for a magic-user named Rogat, who was their only lead. They asked at a few places like the Eternal Flame Bar, learned a handful of clues, spoke to a snake-charming fakir, shopped around at Uugen's Market and ended up in a little alleyway called Coach Avenue at what they presumed was Rogat's home.

Coach Avenue

Nobody answered the door and the rain kept prying eyes off the streets, so Finrod climbed up to the 3rd floor balcony with some rope and the immovable rod. They were inside!

They explored the building, from the 3rd floor down to the first. They found a mix of abandoned & dusty rooms, rich living areas & magical enigmas. A font of water that reflected the moons' light almost hypnotized Phalaris. Areas of magical darkness obscured their vision. An ever-burning brazier gave off pungent incense. Some darkened hallways were strung with wispy spiderwebs, and ethereal voices could be heard in the distance.

In the study they found various celestial observations & love letters, and a strange threatening note crumpled up in the brazier, unburnt:

***

My Dear Mister Demazien -

You should cease your investigations at once. You know, as we all do, that delving into those mysteries beneath our streets is forbidden by strict decree of our Emperor. Should you become involved further, my servants would surely be moved to inform the Guard, and the consequences could be dire. Stay away from The Black Eel and my House.

Yours,
- H. S.

***

Several squat & ugly stone idols were scattered around the house, apparently carved by the owner himself. As soon as the group picked up the rainbow crystal on the top floor, one sprang to life and attacked! It emitted a field of silence and was resistant to mundane weapons, making the battle really tough. At the same time, Black Phalaris got controlled by a force which compelled him to attack his companions. Things looked dire for a moment, but the careful coordination of spells saved the day - Clif's Tidal Force and a Web and Sleep by Finrod got the group out of trouble.

Exploring the house further, one of the gargoyles had a powerful psychic attack which nearly killed Cassia. The use of Clif's elementines saved the group more than once from a stony doom!

After fighting a few gargoyles, picking up some treasure and investigating a few enigmas the party headed back to the Dragon's Eye to heal up, sell loot and return the next day.

Returning to the house, everything was as they left it. They found the corpse of a thief clutching a bat amulet below the staircase up to the roof. They destroyed another gargoyle with an elementine and Clif's magic but not before its evil gaze knocked the elementalist unconscious.

They used an elementine to open the sealed wardrobe in the magically-darkened room and a malevolent black cloud emerged, pushed past their water elementine and is now descending on the group, its inky tendrils reaching towards them...

Monsters Defeated:

3 gargoyles (1665 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

well-made robes

jeweled hat pin

purple carpet

rainbow crystal in a fancy box

Treasure Sold:

well-made robes (500 sp)

jeweled hat pin (500 sp)

purple carpet (600 sp)

(money already divided up)

Notes / Player To Do:

Owen and Clif have enough xp to level up as soon as they get to a safe area for a day (ie. not in the middle of combat where we are now).

Owen needs to pick a religion, do you have any questions about this or want a suggestion? Do Finrod and Owen want to roll for a chance of psionic powers? It's up to you. The first 3 players who PM me the phrase 'wiz biz' along with any information I've asked for will get 300 xp to the character of their choice. [offer ended]

Sessions 37-38

THE SLAUGHTER AT THE TOWERS

Thistleburn 6-11, 4433

5 real days passed during the sessions, including 10 subjective days in the Forest of Dreams

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 4
Robert the Unconscious, fighter 5
Salzige Brauen, necromancer 2
Xénos, spy 2
Uriah Sunstrife, paladin 1
Cassia Tannin, fighter 1
Black Phalaros, necromancer 2
Finrod, elf 1
Clif, elementalist 3
Lord Fesgate, fighter 4 (NPC)

Battle For the Towers

The party was trapped in a moonlit zone prison tower, surrounded by a small army of gnolls and their leader the moon-giant Kucmalog. 

Investigating the ground floor brought the attention of two animated statues. Their stone surfaces were hard to crack, and Robert shattered his magical Executioner's Axe during the fight! The group opened up another prison cell and fought two werewolves. They rescued five knights of the Behringer family in the process, swelling their army's numbers further. 

The party negotiated with the moon-giant and convinced him to open the doors of the prison. At that point, battle was joined! Kucmalog laid down terrible strikes with his enchanted sword and called curses on the group, blinding Daqqa-Jin and Hamon and turning them invisible. His gnoll squads swarmed around the tower and a pitched two-rank battle was joined at the doorway.

The slaughter was terrible! Almost 30 gnolls driven mad with hunger, fear and rage, pressing forward with halberds. Occasionally one would stop to chew on a downed foe, or even one of their own number. The party led them into a trap with flaming oil, blinded them with the fireworks of the Four Winds Bar and then battled them nose-to-nose with the help of the Behringer family knights. 

One by one the party members were knocked out, blinded or otherwise incapacitated until only Uriah was still fighting. Just when it seemed like the gnolls might push through, the rest of the shades arrived from deep inside the tower, alerted by a flying Xénos. Picking up the fallen gnolls' weapons, the 100-strong rebel army pushed forward, slaying the ravenous beasts to the last.

The group was in possession of the field, but still in a tricky position - most of them were knocked out or crippled, the clerics were out of spells and several Behringer knights and shade soldiers had been killed in the battle. 

Even so, fate was with them. Other than a small pack of snarling gnolls who did not attack, the party was not molested on their way out of the Moonlit Zone and back to the rebel camp by the lake. 

Rauffe welcomed the group with all the hospitality he could manage. A great meeting took place with the rebel leaders and the party, with everyone sharing their stories and trying to piece together events. Reymund the Pale agreed to make an extraordinary bow for Gorr, as soon as a workshop can be assembled for him (costing about 8000 silver). Rauffe happily presented Daqqa-Jin with a glass lantern filled with ethereal fireflies as a gift for rescuing so many of his men. 

The party was asked to assist the rebellion further: 

-- The surviving Behringer knights want to recapture their ancestral home from the gnolls, but they need help.

-- The two priestesses are convinced something is wrong with the Sage of Lune - she has gone mad, or been possessed, or something! They want to cure this ailment and turn her back to the path of good, rather than destroying her for allying with the Mad King.

After being outside the moonlit zone for a day or so, the moonlight curse faded from Daqqa-Jin and Hamon. The party rested up, dealt with some logistical issues, brought some equipment in for the rebels and then headed out.

Back in the Night Wolf Inn tavern there were some interesting people. Uriah signed up to the guild for cheap, because he was broke. A ventriloquist was doing a spicy act about the Emperor. Some guild members were mourning a fallen comrade, others were preparing for a mission. A blue-haired elf in black chain named Karakaël was friendly and voluble. He was interested in the party after hearing they had found their Four Winds Bar behind the clock in the library. News of the group's success seems to have spread amongst other guild members.

The group returned to Viridistan to sell their loot, train, identify items and carouse.

New Arrivals

Meanwhile, the party who had recently raided the Vault of the Warlord in the distant north [see the special play report a while back] finally made it to Viridistan with their revived friend St. Nolan, patriarch of Seker. After Black Phalaris gave him back his Staff of Healing, he was so happy that he removed the curses afflicting the group from Warlord's gold.

After then paying to have the cursed gold itself un-cursed, the Vault crew still had 50,000 sp of trade bars left (!!!) which they split up into equal shares. 

Other details were figured out: Gorr had his madness healed with a Cure Disease spell and a cursed item removed by the church of MAN-PAC. Spellcasters dealt with their mentors and got new spells. Party members identified items, traded equipment and sorted out who could use which intelligent weapons.

With new alliances formed, the group agreed they would call themselves THE WRETCHED COMPANY.

To carouse as much as they wanted the group headed up to the Cliffside district, to the Sign of Olive & Lotus. Finrod charmed the gate guard, who was happy to let them pass with an invitation to join them for a drink later. At one of the most expensive joints in town, the group got ready to take some richly deserved R&R...

[More details on rumours, mentors etc. coming in DOWNTIME POST.]

Monsters Defeated:

28 gnolls (1316 xp)
1 needlebeak (190 xp)
2 werewolves (380 xp)
2 caryatid columns (560 xp)

Treasure Gained:

firefly lantern
friendship

Treasure Sold:

topaz eye gems (2*1400 sp)
sapphire eye gems (4*900 sp)
robes with gold thread (1800 sp)
cursed mace -1 (0)
vacuous grimoires (2*1000 sp)

Money Gained:

most players noted already

Xénos - 585 sp gained after carousing costs [see next post]

Session 32

RUMOURS OF WAR

Sunstrong 15 - Thistleburn 5, 4433
10 days passed during the session
2 subjective days passed in your most recent trip into the Forest of Dreams

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 4
Robert the Unconstitutional, fighter 5
Eric Withakay, cleric 5
Salzige Brauen, necromancer 2
Lord Fesgate, fighter 4 (NPC)

Smuggling

The group headed out of the Forest of Dreams, ready to sell their ill-gotten gains in Viridistan. The Night Wolf Inn was as normal: some red-skinned Altanians and pale, fiercely painted Amazons were drinking in the tavern. Salzige attempted to interact with the warrior-women but was rebuffed, amidst the jeers of the eastern barbarians.

On the way back to Viridistan, a great traffic jam of farmers, merchants & travellers had formed outside the Great Wall. Daqqa-Jin went up to the gate and learned that due to a distant war, Emperor Seheitt was instituting new taxes. 

The party split up. Gorr, Fesgate and Salzige remained in the Forest of Dreams for a few days. Fesgate still had a broken leg, and Gorr's sanity was beginning to fray after many battles with the undead! Robert and Daqqa-Jin went through the gate on foot and proceeded into Viridistan.

In the Emerald City, everyone was talking about THE WAR! It was clear that news of the disaster on the sacred mountain [Session 18] had finally reached the general populace. Many rumours swirled. The most significiant: Shah Kijdawr is stretched thin and has few troops available to counter this new threat. Everyone is waiting for the Emperor to step in and send one of the Vasthosts north, but so far this has not happened.

Prices are up! Metal ores, lumber, wine & other goods have increased in price, leading to overall higher cost of living. Temples are sending priests & magic to help deal with the threat, increasing prices for religious services, spellcasting, scrolls, etc.

At Seven Visions, mistress Zvezdana Ozi had news. If the group wanted, she could call in that favour and put them in touch with some 'scary characters' who would be happy to buy some of the strange magical items they had recovered a few sessions ago. They decided to table this for now, and worked out a plan to smuggle their treasure into town.

The party brought their treasure to Targnol port [last seen in Session 2] where they contacted a shady character named Tilki who put them in the hold of a logging boat with a nice bribe to the captain. When they got to Viridistan they were picked up in a small dinghy and brought into town by one of the boat-people, a strange folk who live their whole lives in connected networks of boats & rafts on the waters of the Nereus Firth. This got them into the heart of town and past the guards at the Great Wall, for a simple 10% cut to their patron, Zvezdana.

She identified some of the group's items (including a robe of eyes, sweet) and they did a few errands in town & caught up on the news. Patchey, the proprietor of the Dragon's Eye Inn, gave them a letter that arrived a few days prior, which said only:

Meet me at the Green Lion statue at mid-day this week. The pelagic argosy sights land.

Knowing this was their Inquisition contact, Daqqa-Jin and Robert went to the meeting by the Green Lion, an ancient statue in the middle of a wide plaza by the sea. A shifty viridian who called himself Bolivar greeted them. He wanted to know what they had discovered about the Night Wolf Inn, but Daqqa-Jin didn't tell him anything he really liked. Some haggling (and subtle or not-so-subtle insinuations) followed. Bolivar said if they could give him something really useful about the Inn Master, or the overall agenda of the Guild, he could maybe see about helping them with a special gate pass to bypass the tax-collectors at the Great Wall.

Return to the Moonlit Zone

The group caught up with Rain in the Night Wolf Inn's smoking room. They saw a strange enigma - the animal heads on the walls animated and chanted in an unknown language. 

The elven bard explained the workings of the magical Four Winds Bar and the command words to activate it. She once owned one of these rare & powerful magic items, but traded it many years ago for her magical mandolin. The finding of this item seemed a respectable achievement. Rain listened with interest to the group's plans for the future and offered advice about the Inn's cellars.

Back in the Forest of Dreams, the group progressed further into the Moonlit Zone. They passed through the ruins of an old town now overgrown with trees. They passed by an old structure decorated with the sign of a red cross and two snakes, only glancing inside briefly. 

Coming to a clearing littered with buildings, they were spotted by a group of tall humanoids with the heads of snarling jackals & black eyes, covered in silvery fur. Battle was joined! The humanoids charged while a few of their fellows fired bows from cover.

Justin: "Just call me Michael Vick!"
DM: *laughs in horror*
Chris: "Not exactly, you didn't cast charm on them and make them fight each other!"

It didn't take long for the group to defeat their foes, with the last two jackal-men casting themselves on the group's mercy.  

Jackal-man: "We surrender! No kill!"
John: "This isn't a no-kill shelter..."

Chris: "I'll fire at the fleeing archer." *volley of arrows hit, the jackal-man dies*
Justin: "Gorr's arrows sent that one to a farm upstate!"

The group interrogated the survivors, learning a handful of details about the region and the name of their master, a moon-man named Kucmalôg.

Other Things That Happened

Gorr rested in the Forest of Dreams in the boughs of Grandfather Tree for a subjective 5 months! [recovering 5 fear points in this time] The wise tree spoke of many obscure & ancient things through the sighing of branches and the whistling of the wind. The ranger can't remember much, but perhaps in time this lore will come back to him...

Gorr is still suffering from madness at this time - he is capable of fighting at a distance with a bow but if things get too stressful or monsters/strangers get too close, I will have to make a roll to see if he loses his composure!

Salzige has been learning spells! The stone idol of a winged, monkey-like humanoid speaks to him in his dreams. After a few weeks, he awoke feverishly one morning and transcribed the spell chill touch into his spellbook. A few days later, he had terrible nightmares. Although he could not afterwards recall them, he was so shaken that for two days, even ordinary tasks were quite difficult [if he had been adventuring some penalties would have applied]

Monsters Defeated:

10 white gnolls - 8 killed, 2 surrendered (470 xp)

Treasure Found:

none

Treasure Turned In:

giant gold statue of Ahmon-Ibor
2x purple gemstone eyes (Robert kept these)
2x crimson incense (Eric kept for tithing)
silver grave trinket
silver plate set
2x silver scimitars
9x jewelry from Tannoch crypts (Gorr kept a red cross medal, Daqqa-Jin kept a gold chain)
glass-fronted scroll case (magic scrolls inside were kept)
scroll of sanctuary

Money Awarded:

Young Joe Spruce: 801 sp 

Cost of Living:

[I didn't want to spend time calculating this during the session. I will remind each of you next time]

Gorr: 235 sp
Daqqa-Jin: 97 sp
Eric: 163 sp
Robert: 168 sp
Salzige: 40 sp
Cassia: 11 sp
Xénos: 27 sp
Joe Spruce: (already deducted above)

Experience Totals:

Daqqa-Jin has reached level 4!
Robert the Swift has reached level 5!
Young Joe Spruce has reached level 3!

Session 26

THE FOUR WINDS BAR

12 Sunstrong, 4433

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 2
Cassia, fighter 1

Lost in the Cellars

The group was resting in the Night Wolf Inn after getting lost for a while [last session] when they were approached by an Amazon warrior, an aspiring champion of Athena who wished to join the company. Since Robert the Swift was in bad shape and his Mummy Rot wasn't getting any better, they were happy to have another pair of hands and welcomed Cassia to the group.

The party returned to the library and tried their hand at the clock again. Some more experimentation by Daqqa-Jin led to a solution - after each combination, a few minutes of waiting was necessary to produce the right effect! The clock produced a rotting stench, a peal of thunder, the smell of flowers, smoke, and freezing cold before sliding aside to reveal a narrow passage.

Daqqa-Jin proceeded in and found a gleaming chromium rod floating in a black void, securing it with his backpack. The group reluctantly followed when their friend was drawn into an extradimensional gateway! The group found themselves in a sealed room with magical frescoes of clouds swirling along the floor. Touching the chromium rod (called the Four Winds Bar) to each corner of this room opened a secret door and allowed them to escape in a flurry of mist, leaving behind the skeletons of less fortunate adventurers.

Finding themselves in burial chambers of a familiar style, the group searched for a way out. They passed through the "Family Halls," "Hall of Adventurers," "Hall of Thieves," "Hall of Knights" and "Hall of Wizards," discovering many oddities & dangers.

In the Hall of Knights, the dead were stacked high up to the shadowy ceiling, covered in ancient & ornate armour. When Daqqa-Jin began searching the corpses for valuables, the group were assailed by insubstantial undead materializing out of nowhere. Daqqa-Jin fled in supernatural terror into the darkened tunnels, his friends in hot pursuit. They ended up in a high-ceilinged cavern where mobile stalactites occasionally launched downwards to impale the unwary. The barbarian's headlong flight had placed them all right in the center of danger! A few of the party were brought down to a handful of hit points and they escaped only with a careful plan and a bit of luck.

Steve: "It's like a Metroid level!"
Chris: "We are all basically one Piercer attack away from death at any time."
John: "Fuuuck, I shoulda rolled up an extra character..."

The passed through the Hall of Wizards where the skulls of the dead swivelled to follow their every move, skeletal hands rasping in anticipation. They found a golden door decorated with nymphs and satyrs and a passageway with an icy wind blowing, but decided to pass through the Hall of Slaves towards the exit. They were pursued by two large, pale, corpulent crawling creatures like bloated centipedes but decided not to engage with them, running at top speed towards the tavern stairs.

Questions & Ghosts

Back up on safe ground, the group explored more of the Inn's strange & mysterious rooms. They attempted to open a secret panel of some kind in the cloakroom, but weren't able to. Found the kitchen, staffed by odd gray-skinned people. Explored the parlour and played with a few of the musical instruments there, and found a magical horn hidden in a secret compartment!

Upstairs they explored the smoking lounge, decorated with animal head trophies and paintings of diverse adventurers from around the world including James, Rain the elven bard and a Viridian named Rory. On the balcony they found an evil-looking amulet in a stone coffer and decided to leave it alone for now.

Exploring from the library, they took a spiral staircase up through another "back passage" and ended up in the attic, emerging from a small, featureless black door. The ceiling lay close above and with no windows, everything was lit by little oil lamps. Many more guest rooms were up here, but the group descended the stairs to the 2nd floor.

In the art gallery, they saw something truly strange. Accompanied by a spectral singing, the translucent apparition of a little girl wandered past them, seemingly unaware of their presence. This ghost or illusion or whatever it was did not respond to their attempts at interaction. The group waved and asked questions eliciting no response, until Daqqa-Jin asked "Where are you?"

The ghostly child replied "Between starlight and hellfire," before vanishing.

The party barely had time to register this odd event before they saw another strange visitation: a stooped, cloaked figure with its face obscured, clutching an ornately carved staff in one wizened hand. This odd and spooky being spoke to no-one, instead tracing the path that the ghostly girl had followed, looking around the room intently before vanishing as quickly & mysteriously as it came.

After all these strange experiences the party needed some answers. They spoke with Mr. Everbleed and learned many strange facts about the Inn, about special combat training, the strange phenomena they've seen, the identity of the mysterious Guild Master - and that Rain once owned a magic item called a "Four Winds Bar" as well!

After some accelerated time in the Forest of Dreams, Eric Withakay was back up to full strength and able to use his clerical magic to heal the party and remove Robert the Swift's mummy rot - this also cured his curse of sleeplessness and he was able to get some rest for the first time in a while.

Monsters:

5 piercers (130 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

2 grave trinkets (brooch & necklace)

Bonus:

Solving the clock puzzle (1000 xp each)

Daqqa-Jin has reached level 3, good work!