Session 59

THE PORTAL OF DARKNESS

Blackmoon 6, 4433

Characters:

Tardif, ranger 2

Lothryk Bjargson, cleric of Njord 3

Tarr the Younger, archer 2

Krom, fighter 2

Veythar Varros, incantor 2

(NPC) Zhalgas, fighter 3

The Final Confrontation!

The group continued their exploration of the temple of Set in Viridistan's undercity.

DM: "You might fight magically Jacked Cobras!"

Player: "That sounds like a brand of pre-workout."

After destroying an invisible imp (last session), the party explored the dusty old library, discovering it was a repository of forbidden and evil lore. They looted a few tomes and scrolls that looked interesting and began to search for hidden doors.

This precipitated the final conflict when Tarr opened a secret door. An ominous chanting could be heard in the room beyond, where black and purple mists poured forth from an inky black archway. Two lumpen and misshapen humanoids moved to attack, while a cloaked figure accompanied by two giant constrictor snakes cast spells from the center of the room. They were in danger, but there on the altar of Set was their goal: the Chalice of Aldren!

A pitched battle was waged in the secret passageway against the un-men, most of it fought inside a globe of magical darkness cast by the evil priest. 

While Tardif held the line against these horrors backed up by Zhalgas and Tarr, the rest of the group (Lothryk, Krom and Veythar) circled around to the front door of the high priest's chamber and attempted to open the door covered with magical runes.

[At this point, an offhand comment from the DM sent the players off in the wrong direction. That one was kinda my fault guys, oops!]

Touching the door with his torch, Lothryk found it transformed into a hissing cobra right in his hand, along with a handful of his arrows. This group was embroiled in a battle for their lives against (possibly) venomous snakes! Veythar sensibly decided to cast invisibility.

Tardif, battling for his life, heard the ominous words "embrace... death!" uttered in the darkness. However, the black hand of Set did not descend on him that day and he fought on, pushing his foe backwards.

[The DM rolled like shit, and the priest's death touch couldn't hit even a blinded and constricted victim. Lucky you!]

At about this time, both parties pushed forward into the room in a two-pronged assault. The Setite priest snatched up a magical spear from the altar and prepared to battle to the death - but Veythar, using the sneaky tactical thinking typical of Incantors, crept forward invisibly and snatched the Chalice from its resting place! 

The priest was too late, and was more or less helpless against two waves of plate-armoured death descending on him - he was slain, fittingly, in a final stroke by Zhalgas, the pious warrior finally delivering his revenge against the serpent-cult and fulfilling his sacred oath. The magical spear was snatched up by Tardif, whose eyes immediately began to glow ominously, as if reflecting distant furnaces.

After that it was all a mop-up operation. The group messed with the black archway a little bit (it healed Tarr but others declined to touch it), explored another secret room and looted the priest's personal chambers, left alone an ominous icon of Set, and distracted a giant snake with some cultists' corpses.

Climbing up a spiral staircase, they broke through an old wall to find themselves back in The Sequence! The cult of Set had been operating right under their enemies' noses in the Undercity this whole time.

Handing off the Chalice of Aldren, the group were cured of the Crimson Curse and treated as the saviors of the district. 

The rich and powerful of Viridistan may not take note of their actions this day, but among common people and the servants of good, the group will be noted as men and women of great merit for this deed. Return to The Sequence later as they may be willing offer you magical healing, sell you items, give you information, or point you towards more adventures to advance the cause of good and help the poor and downtrodden of the city.

* Potions and simple magical items have been identified and costs deducted. The snake venoms cost so much to identify because they all look the same and none were labeled. Thus, the alchemist had to test each in turn - a small price to pay for not playing Russian Roulette with the one dose of lethal asp venom in the bunch!

Payouts *added to your sheets already*

Lothryk, Tarr, Krom, Veythar - 450 sp

Andras, Katamtaman, Gaddock, Tardif - 225 sp

* You'll note this isn't a lot of money. This is the tradeoff for going into a dungeon with a huge party of adventurers - it's nice to have the extra muscle, but shares are smaller. Remember, the best treasures are hidden...

NOTES

Hero points were awarded all round! 

This is the current state of experience points, hero points, etc. so update your sheets accordingly.

You guys elected to go on an adventure with capped characters instead of training due to the Crimson Curse. This means a fair chunk of experience points are wasted, but there was really no good option available. These are the kind of difficult situations that AD&D presents you with - sort of like real life! 

We will deal with training and identifying items in downtime, but for now enjoy your success!

Session 58

CRIMSON CURSE IV

Blackmoon 6, 4433

Characters:

Lothryk, cleric of Njord 3
Andras, druid 1
Tarr the Younger, archer 2
Krom, fighter 2
Katamtaman Toxotai, archer 2
Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2
Veythar "The Dartist" Varros, incantor 2
(NPC) Zhalgas, fighter 3

Return to the Undercity

Group 3 recuperated and took the fight back to the Temple of Set, hoping to cure the Crimson Curse quickly before any of their number succumbed to the disease.

The party carefully passed the chamber of poison, climbed over a pit of snakes and carefully ducked past a hallway of dripping acidic fangs.

In a chamber filled with dead rats, they fought a hideous bat-snake hybrid creature with a lethal gaze attack. Tarr weathered this assault with great luck and the creature was destroyed swiftly.

DM: "It's always gotta be something with you guys, huh?"
DF: "No, it's always something with YOU!"

The party entered the cultists' temple proper, attempting to avoid contact with the Setites with mixed success. The situation devolved into a series of smaller combats throughout the temple as cultists and acolytes came upon the group at various times. Particularly strange were the cultists with ragged robes and madness in their eyes - snake venom addicts who feared neither injury nor death!

Player: "It's YOUR fault... that we're breaking into your evil lair!"

The group explored some old catacombs lined with burial niches and filled with wandering zombies, mostly turned away easily by Lothryk. Some treasures were recovered here and a few strange things observed. Andras fell into a pit trap in a hallway smelling of charcoal and did not want to use the helpfully provided ladder to escape. Instead, Tarr let down a rope for him.

DM: "I may as well tell you. The ladder also had a trap on it."
Player: "The old double-double!"

The group explored some monks' cells, passed some strange doors, and fought cultists in a room filled with odd tubes which piped sounds down from the surface! They heard the voice of Haroun, a monk at The Sequence. Apparently the Setites are eavesdropping on the very agency that opposed them? A powerful advantage!

The group recovered some strange vials, passed through a misty great hall graven with murals, and discovered a room occupied by... someone. After a tense conversation at the door, the group entered a library, apparently empty of foes. Thinking quickly, Andras cast faerie fire and outlined a small creature with bat-wings, which immediately fled! Katamtaman was not about to let this happen, chasing the tiny glowing imp outside and shooting it down with the enchanted arrows he found earlier.

DM: "The mural is bizarre and vaguely unwholesome."
Player: "It's AI slop!"
Player: "By Shakkur's hairy homeless balls!"

The party is currently in the library contemplating their next move. There seem only a few unexplored rooms in the temple, primarily one engraved with glowing runes...

Hero Points:

Tarr gets 1 for his clever idea to get past the dripping fangs, and 1 more for roping Andras out of the pit trap.

Krom gets 1 for being quick on his feet distracting the cultists, setting them up for a surprise attack.

Andras and Katamtaman each get 1 for their team effort and good luck with the library imp.

[Remember: a character cannot hold more hero points than their level. Excess points are wasted.]

SUMMARY

Note - Turned undead don't give experience points as they might come back and fight you another day. No great loss, as you can see most of these weak monsters give very little experience, so let's hope some of this loot is valuable!

Session 57

CRIMSON CURSE III

Blackmoon 2, 4433

Characters:

Tarr the Younger, archer 2
Berit, thief 2
Krom, fighter 2
Lothryk Bjargson, cleric of Njord 2
Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2
Katamtaman Toxotai, archer 2
Tardif, ranger 2
Zhalgas (NPC), fighter 3

The Hunt for Imin

Group 3 continued their exploration of the Undercity following some clues to the Chalice of Aldren. 

The group explored this fortified section of the undercity, which seemed closer to the seat of the Setites' power. Strange relics, an old mysterious shrine, odd tombs and enigmas were discovered. A few characters dug in some trash and luckily avoided a Rot Grub infestation.

Berit avoided being strangled and suffocated by an animated black hood left by an ancient torturer, and later managed to deal with another animated carpet with some quick thinking and preparedness.

The delve got bizarre when a magical door was discovered which revealed a different room depending on how it was opened. The two rooms each held a statue holding a treasure. Tarr seized a blue gem and was Polymorphed into a cat, while Tardif took a two-handed sword and was Polymorphed into a badger!

[Point of order: I completely forgot that being the victim of a Polymorph requires a system shock roll to avoid death! You guys got a free one this time, don't rely on it happening again.]

Undaunted by these setbacks the group pressed on and, solving the riddle of the door, used it to open a new pathway. They came upon a strange jackal-headed creature (surely a servant of Set) and his two bodyguards. The fight was short and brutal, and Tarr's feline form was invaluable in helping downed party members and distracting the foe, providing the group more combat opportunities. The jackal-man lost his stomach for the fight rapidly, so the party closed in and finished him off. 

The group followed the only lead left: a tunnel leading further into the Undercity. They discovered a crumbling chamber filled with giant snake statues. The bloated corpses of two thugs attested to the dangers. Berit and Tarr discovered that - yes - this room was filled with pressure-plates releasing poison gas. Luckily, nobody was killed!

At this point the group was low on spells and hit points, electing to retreat, sell their treasure and identify some magic items, and get Tarr and Tardif un-Polymorphed.

They spent a pile of money at Seven Visions (including some provided by grizzled veteran and company patriarch Robert the Swift) to reach the top of 2nd level!

Hero Points

Tarr: brave cat antics
Berit: good thinking and stepping into the line of fire

SUMMARY

Monster and treasure XP already awarded, money already divided.

Sessions 52-53

HOLIDAY IN VIRIDISTAN 

Blackmoon 1-2, 4433

Characters

Tarr the Younger, archer 2
Lothryk Bjargson, cleric 3 of Njord
Krom, fighter 2
Tardif, ranger 2
Berit, thief 2
Katamtaman Toxotai, archer 2
Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2
(NPC) Zhalgas, fighter 3

Bargains with Snakes

Group 3 of the Wretched Company had finally arrived in Viridistan! They sold off the trade goods from the Sea Ghost and paid their first mate Bloody Bjorn to watch the ship in their absence. He was also ordered to remodel it so the authorities wouldn't recognize it as a smugglers' ship, christening it anew as the Miserable Maid.

After making contact with Uriah and speaking to the Church of Seker, the group was keen to help the locals with the Crimson Curse currently rampaging through Otherside and track down the Chalice of Aldren, the holy relic Zhalgas was searching for. They had spoken to the monks of The Sequence to get more information, and tracked clues left by the smugglers to a tavern called the Smiling Sultan.

Lothryk and Berit managed to bluff their way inside and have a conversation with the person in charge: a bizarre amalgam of snake and human named Sasha. She had ties to various criminal enterprises including the gang of smugglers the group destroyed in their introductory adventure [see the Village of Braddol]. The duo explained that they had replaced Captain Sigurd and she would have to deal with them now, but their agenda was different and they sought to speak with the cult of Set. There were some tense moments of improvisation based on the meager clues the party had about all the players in this situation, but they made it out with some useful information [the hefty shares of the smuggling operation they paid surely went a long way].

The cult of Set had a base underneath The Morass, a crumbling muddy sinkhole in a neighbourhood near the river. Exploring it got the group accosted by leprous beggars, starving and drug-addicted, who wanted all their nice expensive gear! This turned into an unbridled slaughter as the beggars were cut down mercilessly.

After driving these urban scum off, the party explored the ruins at the bottom of the Morass. They found a secret passage under some debris leading to a tunnel below...

The Undercity of Set

Immediately as they began to explore below, the party were set upon by a pack of thugs and a cultist of Set! Things got vicious as the cultist deployed a wand to blast the group with fire, but was unable to handle the sheer number of attacks the group brought to bear.

The party began to explore the underground complex, scooping up some trade goods and a few curious items. They spoke to the cook (who knew nothing) and fought a tough battle across a rope bridge against some crossbow-wielding thugs. During the fight, Gaddock the Inebriated fell off the bridge into the water and had to be rescued with some quick thinking and a rope (lucky for him!).

Battling across the bridge put the group face-to-face with a pack of jackals who were also dispensed with rapidly. From there, the party descended to a lower, more open level and continued exploring.

They found a long-abandoned forge where they were attacked by an animated carpet and two daggers, which also proved a tense fight. After destroying the objects, the party found the blacksmith's concealed treasure - a masterfully made silver longsword and some gold.

someone: "This is just like in Aladdin!"
someone: "I used to have a rug like this."
Justin, probably: "We sent that bitch to a Whole New World!"

In an abandoned temple, they fought a zombified fish-man and then dredged its pool of muck to find an old and macabre icon. On the walls of this blue and green edifice the party saw the following disturbing message carved:

"Dark lord, baron of the unholy tide, we implore you to fill our gills with your retched slime so we may do your accursed bidding until the black waters cover all dry ground and you return to your people."

They passed on towards a great gate and engaged a group of turbaned fanatics with crossbows and swords. Fighting at range through the portcullis proved tricky but with some luck they won, and we left the party here debating what to do next...

Tarr: "Don't bend over too low, snake worshippers, or your master will swallow you whole!"

[Welcome back boys, sorry this one took a while, preparing for the convention and other things took precedence earlier in the year. I'm excited to get back to some blood & guts adventures in the Undercity very soon!]

Summary:

Session 56 - Treasure & Magic Items

Here is a summary of treasure obtained in the last three sessions:

IDENTIFYING ITEMS [1400 sp]:

2 Javelins of Lightning [400 sp]
Single-use item. Range of 90'. On a strike, becomes the end of a 5' wide, 30' long lightning bolt. Deals 1d6 damage to the target. The target and any creatures in the bolt's 30' path take 20 lightning damage, save vs. spell for half.

- The Blank Mask [400 sp]
Mutes the emotions, giving the wearer +4 to saves vs. fear, charm, suggestion, confusion, emotion, etc. It also changes alignment to Lawful Neutral and reduces CHA to 9. Daqqa-Jin refuses to take it off.

- The Bleeding Cross [0 sp]
Zvezdana takes one look at this thing and explains that it is a unique and strange relic of the ancient world. Her sagely knowledge won't help. You will have to find out what it does through further research, other magical spells or experimentation.

- Queen's Lorgnettes [400 sp]
These shaded, gold-rimmed spectacles are held with a long handle instead of sitting over the ears & nose like most eyeglasses. In normal light they are useless and cannot be seen through. Against bright lights (spells, staring at the sun, etc) they can protect the wearer’s eyes from damage, granting +2 to saves and reducing effect lengths by half while worn – of course this will occupy one of the users’s hands for the duration.

- Potion of Extra-Healing [100 sp]
A bubbling purple-black syrup, smells like bananas and cinnamon. Heals 3d6+3 hp.

- Potion of Levitation [100 sp]
A thin, cadaverous-yellow fluid with threads of bubbles rising from the bottom. Smells like buttered rum and hashish. Levitate as the spell, 1d6+6 turns.

[I have taken the liberty of charging player characters shares of identifying costs based on the expedition where the magic items were obtained. As a result, the characters who were only at the Sage's Temple paid almost nothing (identifying one potion). This seems fair since they recovered much less treasure. Unless you guys ask me to do otherwise, this will be my policy with treasure breakdowns going forward, it seems fair and speeds things along.]

BOOKS:

Plain brown book, old and weathered, with a red cross on the cover. No title

Black book with nine-sided geometric figure embossed in gold on the cover. (magical) 

Book - "The Last Opus" 

Book - "Primacy" 

Book embossed with images of cavorting women & satyrs.  "Beyond Good & Evil" (magical)

Book covered in dust, bound in heavy rusted black metal plates. "On Coming Forth By Night"

NET WEALTH GAINED:

Daqqa-Jin, Robert the Swift - 3660 sp

Xenos, Getorix, Uriah - 4233.9 sp

Young Joe Spruce - 2002.3 sp

Cassia, Salzige, Finrod, Owen - 574.2 sp

EXPERIENCE TOTALS:

DOWNTIME CONCERNS:

- Xénos is capped and will need to train before he can gain more experience points. Level 6 awaits buddy!

- Owen the Vitalizer requires 7 days bed rest before he can go adventuring again.

Fear Points:

Recall that for every 20 days of uninterrupted rest with no activity, a character recovers 1 fear point.

- Robert the Swift has fought too many undead, and has slipped into a catatonic state! Until he recovers some fear points, there is a 50% chance he is simply uninterested in anything happening around him.  [14/14]

- Xénos is teetering on the edge, 1 fear point away from madness! [10/11]

- Young Joe Spruce is looking haggard after the last few encounters. [12/14]

- Finrod is coming close to the edge of his limited mental fortitude. [7/9]

- Daqqa-Jin is tough, but has been through quite a lot recently. [10/14]

- The rest of the party is doing well:
Owen [2/16]
Salzige [3/12]
Getorix [4/16]
Cassia [3/9]
And of course Uriah is immune.

[Setting Info] The Temple of Nephtlys

Nephthlys is the goddess of wealth and fate. Merchants sacrifice to her to decrease the risk of their journeys. In the last thousand years her temples have become a focus for banking with merchants able to make deposits in one temple and withdraw them in a temple in another city. She has temples or shrines in all the major cities of the Empire. 

Her primary temple is on the Street of Gods, in the shape of a gigantic black sphere that takes up almost a city block, and puts the temples of many lesser gods completely in the shade. From here, her High Priest Grenspanios oversees all financial transactions. 

The goddess herself is depicted as a beautiful woman with the lower body of a spider. Nobody knows why this is, although some irreverent types joke that once a man begins dealing with the usurious priesthood of Nephtlys, he is forever ensnared in their 'webs' of debt and credit - but most are careful not to say such things within earshot of the masked and robed priests.

TEMPLE SERVICES AVAILABLE

Nephtlys' priests accept all customers regardless of their piety or lack thereof - as long as they bring money!

- Holy water, incense, and religious/mystical paraphernalia are available in generous quantities.

- Magic items are sometimes sold. At any time, there may be potions, scrolls, and some completely random magic items available. Items of interest are also purchased by the temple, after magical identification (one day required).

- Money-changing to other denominations (silver to gold, etc.) is at a 2% processing fee. The temple will also purchase and sell easily converted valuables such as gems, jewelry and art objects.

- The most popular financial service is the sale of certificates in the form of silk strips which may be easily carried in clothes or perhaps a turban without detection. The certificates are redeemable at any of Nephtlys' temples, and of course many other locations at face value. Available in denominations of 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 sp at a surcharge of 10%, they are absolutely secure from duplication or counterfeiting. They save against all harm at +4.

- Deposits of coins and other valuables in the treasury are at a monthly 2% of deposited value.

- The temple will handle wills and other authorized transactions on a 5–10% commission (depending on risk and complexity).

- Sophisticated financial instruments are available to the discerning customer making an investment of over 5000 sp. These high-risk, high-yield derivatives count as carousing (at a rate of 5 sp = 1 xp), but there is a chance of a big payoff in the future.

[DM Note: does this mean that Lolth, the AD&D drow spider goddess, doesn't exist in this campaign world? Are Nephtlys and Lolth the same?? I guess you'll just have to find out...]

Somewhere in Viridistan

Unknown date, 4433

Three other people enter the room. Two are clearly guards, tough looking Viridian veterans who stand at attention on each side of Salzige. The third is an old Ghinoran woman: she wears an ornate gown of foreign design, a circlet studded with gems around her brow, her fingers covered with gold rings of various sizes and shapes. Her walnut-coloured hands shake with weakness. Phaidros holds her arm and helps her into his chair, and Salzige sees that she is blind - her eyes are blank and white.

"Allow me to present Lady Metztli, of the distant south," intones Phaidros. "My lady, the subject is before you."

Lady Metztli grabs Salzige's hand and flinches visibly. "Aah! Much darkness I see, in the land beyond shadows! We will purge you of this blight now... Hold him!" The guards each clamp down on Salzige's shoulders and hold his head still. Lady Metztli's sightless eyes stare directly into his and again he gets the sense of having his mind and soul scrutinized -- but this time, the pain is immense!

The agony burns every nerve ending in Salzige's body, as if he were immersed in boiling magma. It seems to last for eternity... at a certain point he begins to hallucinate, entering a waking dream. He hears Lady Metztli's voice echoing in his mind: 

"We will rewrite his future for him..."

Salzige's Dream

The face of the moon was the Hideous Monkey Statue, mocking as it leered down from the sky. Below, Zalan schemed and cursed in a graveyard, calling up the dead for his vengeance. An army of undead rose, devoured their maker, and swept across the land in a great holocaust of blood. A few terrible figures led the charge: at the forefront were a vampire in a jagged pointed crown; and a floating, legless skeleton with a circlet and a staff.

Against them was arrayed a strange army: in the front were the wood elves, painted savages with spears and rocks. Beside them walked more bizarre examples of elfkind: some ghoulishly pale and tattooed, others with night-black skin. Behind these were shadowy creatures, almost like elves, their very skin the stuff of darkness and dream. Behind these, driving the charge, were tall ethereal beings with glowing skin and shining armour, blasting their foes with terrible eldritch forces.

These two armies met in a titanic conflict, a war which spread to every corner of the world. Even the Emerald City was consumed with flames!

The fires died down and acrid winds scoured the dust of the city away until nothing remained. Over the ruins of the Empire rose a massive horned monument to evil: a statue of Yredelemnul, the goat-demon, lord of death!

Lady Metztli's voice echoes: "This is as it may be, not as it must be..."

...

An androgynous figure in black clothes walks down darkened tunnels. It passes a huge, glowing red ruby on a marble platform, then walks down a white staircase, passing beneath three golden gates.

Later, this same being stands in a dark room before an ancient, weathered book written in blood-red inks. On a stone block rest a plain golden cup, an oddly-shaped skull, and a jewelled spear. The cloaked figure intones unpronounceable words from the book, and ripples of darkness flow from the walls, plunging it into a sea of liquid black. From this sea of darkness rise humanoid shapes, bodies of pure blackness which climb the walls, drag it under, and flow out of the room in a flood...

An ibis bird floats on a vast lake dotted with rushes. It is peaceful. The bird speaks, and its words bring a sense of serenity and wisdom, but afterwards they cannot quite be recalled...

A great set of golden merchant's scales... 

A floating fortress inside a storm cloud... 

A crumbling white dome, set amongst the mountain peaks... 

A distant glowing star, streaking blue and pink trails across a silvery-grey void... 

A frozen city beneath an enormous glacier, with a blood-soaked gate guarded by a demon..

...

...

Shopping at the Shadow Market

Twisting alleyways, small courts and old, foreboding houses surround Shadow Market. These are places beyond the gaze of most city-dwellers: reached via obscure streets, menacing underpasses and counter-intuitive directions, they are hidden somewhere in the fabric of the city, and this is the way the inhabitants of the place like it. Those who know of its location have found the Shadow Market impossible to visit during the day. A twist of the street that leads elsewhere, a doorway that isn’t there, or a tall wall which seems to have been missing before – these small changes conspire to keep visitors away from the area. Likewise, the night here is everlasting – the Sun never rises, and no sleep shall bring dawn. Some claim Shadow Market belongs to no specific city but to many of them; but there has been nobody to prove or refute this claim.

LANDMARKS

These locations & businesses are fixtures of the Shadow Market.

Large Mansion - This building dominates the center of the marketplace.

Shrine of Bells - Silent monks ring bells

Dreamsending - run by Gabrijela, trips to the Astral plane are available (per person: 25 sp setup, 25 sp/day)

Shrine of Kèttki - a minor deity of luck in the shape of a dancing armadillo. Donation box.

Green Steel - Blacksmith. Out of business. Tolvaj is a drunk who owes the Cockatoo Club 50,000 silver. A gang of criminals took his special forge stone.

The Celestial World - Sage. Nice old lady Palesa can answer questions about the planes, religions, etc. for a fee.

The Five Brothers - Tavern

Temple of Nephtlys - Clerical services, loans, moneychanging, fencing.

Hall of Zegor - Storage facility. Sir Barthas is an energetic salesman. A locked gate with an image of a tiger inside. (2,000-4,000 silver per year. Guaranteed proof against break-ins)

Life after Death - Sage. Vydmantas walks with a limp and is a bit creepy. Can answer questions about the gods, the occult, undead, or similar. Sells Ghostdust (50 sp/dose).

The Minisculator - ?

House of the Sun - Inn/Rooming House. Proprietor Othimon follows Velkat Melnar, minor god of travellers. (25-100 sp/night)

House with No Door - Dark building, obscured windows. A keyhole-shaped depression in one brick

Lor Apartments - upstairs apartment halls, seems quite large.

The Cockatoo Club - heavy iron door. Password for Waterdays is "barbaric gelatin."

PASSING FOLK

The Night Market's merchants are a taciturn lot, who tend to say little about the methods they had employed to procure their wares, or where they may hail from – questions considered too gauche and intrusive to answer. They come and depart as is their wont, and once gone, they are rarely seen again for a while.

- Imodian the Wessene - Bizarre white flowers from the Highlands of the Talaiotes (450 sp) that bring strange dreams.

- A tough-looking Skandik selling tour packages to exotic places.

- A Viridian in dirty robes who has ancient cadavers for sale.

- Phandascar - An old Antillian in a rich cloak, an expert on earthly and heavenly measures who can lay out a personal horoscope: 500 sp for a minor prediction, 2,250 sp for a major destiny, or 5,500 sp to know the hour of your doom.

- A shifty Ghinoran in a turban selling strange fossils and pieces of amber. 

- Brother Yiag - A shaven-headed Viridian wearing ominous black & red robes decorated with pentagrams, selling bottles of glowing blue liquid. Bottles are a rare drug called called Blue-22 (1300 sp). Claims it is the hot new thing and everybody's doing it.

- Ms. Le Rouge - Tattoo artist in expensive eveningwear. ("Living tattoos" start at 3,000 sp - Magically imbued tattoos start at 5,000 sp)

Almost always available:

street drugs (Oid, BLACK, opium, hashish, others)
spell components (% chance based on spell level)
Ask your DM!

[As the vendors come and go, this page will be updated with new information.]

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]

Session 38 DOWNTIME & UPDATES

Thistleburn 11, 4433

The Wretched Company celebrated their new expanded membership roster by whooping it up at The Sign of Olive & Lotus, spending well over ten thousand silver pieces! Even the normally impassive eunuch Merinius is impressed - the group is moving into the ranks of the Emerald City's most decadent.

Clif hit the house spending limit last night (4000 silver pieces!), hoovering up liquor, throwing dice, grabbing the girls, sniffing powders and buying rounds for everyone. Somehow in this state he gambled especially well, winning some extra money [already added]

Finrod gambled especially poorly, losing extra money [already deducted]

Black Phalaris was in his cups and said something rude to an officer of the City Guard! This will surely cause problems for the group later...

Xénos drunkenly invited a young man named Vasu Cervantes on the group's next adventure! He seems to be the third son of some noble house and if he comes to any harm there will surely be trouble. [He will come along on the next session that Xénos plays in]

Hirath, the city guard sergeant who Finrod charmed, actually showed up to have a few drinks with the group. He hung out for a while and left at some point, you don't really remember when. He seemed pretty chill for a guard, anyway. 

Machado, Tafari & Kelci have all spent some of their shares on carousing and each gained a level.

Rumours & News:

When the characters go carousing they will automatically get cool rumours based on money spent. It's assumed that they are buying people drinks, chatting folks up, etc. What you hear might change depending on where you carouse (nobleman's chatter at expensive places, the 'word on the street' in dive bars, etc). If you want to just ask around town, the rumours will be the more generic news of the day in the marketplace or whatever.

***

- The undead war is still on, troops are mustering but there have been no decisive moves made yet. What is the Emperor waiting for?

- An elf over in Otherside is bragging that he has explored the legendary lost Temple of Esma and returned alive.

- Clif's mentor, the powerful elementalist Unazhon Conchobar told him a strange tale: long ago a lich-lord named Shodredh Dachod built a flying sanctum on the astral plane. Many treasure-hunters have sought the wondrous wealth inside, but a strange magic protects the place: the more powerful the searcher is, the harder the sanctum is to find! Unazhon himself cannot reach it; perhaps Clif and his friends will be able to?

- The church of Seker may have a task for Uriah in the near future, he should check back soon.

- Overheard at The Sign of Olive & Lotus: a man with a military bearing, perhaps an off-duty Legion officer was speaking about the undead war: "The vasthosts are ready but we haven't marched yet! The Emperor is going to let Shah Kijdawr deal with himself - and when the restless dead have wrecked all of Smyrsis Province, it'll be all the reason necessary to depose him and install someone new in Tell Qa. The two have never seen eye to eye."

- The necromancer Zalán has a request for his two apprentices, Black Phalaros and Salzige: find the mysterious Shadow Market. This enchanted location can only be found at night, by secret alleys & passages unknown in the daytime. The precise route is obscure, but a sorcerer named Rogat has been overheard discussing the matter - perhaps you can ask him?

- Finrod's mentor is an elf woman named Melpomene. She is something of a local figure in Elftown, wearing a simple black & white robe resembling a nun's outfit. She is concerned about rumours of a new criminal gang popping up called the Night-Born. Apparently they are exclusively elven and have access to strange magics that nobody else recognizes.

Downtime Activities:

Finrod read the Libram of Silver Magic, raising himself from 2nd to 3rd level! A precipitous increase for the elf.

Salzige read the Libram of Gainful Conjurations, raising himself from 3rd to 4th level! He also left the mysterious stone idol with Zalán, hoping his mentor could understand more about it.

Daqqa-Jin and Salzige have been overcome by the darkness of the Moonlit Zones! They have developed neurotic lassitude & are plagued by doubts and fears. This causes them to hesitate in battle. They will be surprised 50% of the time and suffer -1 to initiative rolls.

Uriah cannot carouse due to his paladin's code, but he may spend money on philanthropy. He decides to spend 338 silver on a worthy cause and donates to The White Hand, a tradesman's group that focuses on neighbourhood improvements in the Old City and Dockside. It goes well for a first attempt and although he is an unknown adventurer, a few folks take notice of him and are enthused to see a real-life paladin involved in their cause.

Philanthropy:

Donating money to various causes. Anyone can attempt this but it is (right now) the only option for paladins and others similarly restricted by a special code of conduct. It includes donating to various causes around town, attending events, or even giving out meals to the poor by hand. 

Philanthropic donations are capped by the character's social class. Right now everyone's is low (since they are mercenaries and assorted lowlifes). Although temples are powerful social forces, individual priests & paladins (especially those that go on adventures) can still be of low social class.

At your current class we will try out a cap of 1000 sp for doing philanthropy between adventures. After engaging in this activity and spending silver, make a save vs. spells and we'll see if anything special happens - there may be bad or good events, just like with carousing!

Cost of Living:

Prices have gone up with the undead army spreading from the Starrcrag Mountains. Suppliers of all kinds are finding lucrative deals with the troops so getting good stuff in town is becoming a bit difficult. Standard cost of living is up, which is reflected in the totals below.

I will remind you of these next session but here they are for now.

Experience Totals:

After carousing and using magic books, the party's experience totals are here:

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!