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Session 5

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 5 months ago

 

Session 5

9/18/07

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12-13 Newyear, 721IA

An Undead Linele & Abbercombe

 

The party heard from the non-Jingles slave that the locked door led to a hideout of some criminal organization.  The Triton wished us luck and went home.  We investigated the rest of the above-water portion, then went into a pool a water.  An eel came out and bit Crow.  About 20 minutes after that, Crow started to get really sick.  We investigated underwater and found Linele.  Miassharra tried to sneak around and get the drop on Linele, but instead got stuck in a vision.  Cyan had Quillion steal an pocketwatch from Linele, Jacob summoned an octopus to try to save Mia, and everyone else charged Linele.  Mia woke up and thought the octopus was a bad guy.  Everyone ganged up on Linele.  On our way out, we had a crab battle.

 

We stayed overnight at the Ghostly Minstrel and then met up with Seanus the next morning.  We delivered Linele to Linech.  Linech was very anxious to get her (and her possessions) back, and refused to answer any of the party's questions.  We reported back to the Count, who convinced the party to steal the statue from Linech's place.  We decided to do it immediately, since we knew that Linech was away from his house.  We pulled off a daring mid-day robbery, taking the statue out of the window while Cyan and Miassharra distracted any passerbyers.

 

Finally, we decided that we're going to check out the dungeons.  Yay!

 

 

 

 

The freed slave thanked the heroes profusely. He explained that the cavern was a subterranean hideout for members of the Balacazar crime syndicate. They had been retrieving the Shivvel from the shipwreck when the glass coffin holding Linele burst open, her apparently undead body attacking them and escaping deeper into the tunnels.

 

After attempting to force the iron door leading aboveground, the party followed Linele's trail to a deep pool of water that descended into darkness. They leapt in, and sank slowly into the depths. Crow and Mia pulled out sunrods to illuminate their way.

 

After dropping about fifty feet, Crow spotted a pair of eyes reflecting the light. He took a swipe at the hidden eel, but missed. It lashed out, but his armor deflected the blow. His return shot sank into its flesh, but it still wriggled about. The others positioned themselves to best attack the eel, stabbing and slashing at it. It bit Crow once more, sinking its fangs into his neck. Though the wound tingled, he felt no ill effects in addition to the wound. The eel then retreated into its hole.

 

The tunnel continued for another thirty feet, opening to reveal a tunnel on one side and a large cave on the other. Sensing the cave was a dead end, the party ventured slowly into it. As they neared a wider area, Mia spotted a still, shadowy form in the distance. A hunched humanoid figure stood frozen near the cave's far wall, a small object clutched tightly in hand.

 

As Mia approached, she was overcome by some sort of mental effect, stopping her in her tracks. Deducing that the item was the source, Cyan sent Qyllion after it, resistant as he was to the powers of the mind. Seeing Mia caught in the sway of their opponent, Jacob summoned a fiendish squid to drag her out of harm's way, but as soon as it appeared, it was caught as well.

 

Crow tried to pull Mia in with the butt end of a longspear, but failed. Qyllion snatched the item from the creature's grasp. It looked up, eyes ablaze, and they could see that it was, or at least had been, a young girl, but now there was only madness in her eyes.

 

Cyan pulled out a scroll and sent three force missiles sailing at her, hitting her full in the chest. She staggered, but regained her composure immediately.

 

She responded by lashing out at Cyan with her mind, but he was able to resist. Crow fashioned a makeshift lasso out of rope and the spear, hoping to reel Mia in that way, but she awoke from her stupor to see the squid in front of her. Taking it for an assailant, she attacked, wounding it grievously. It ejected a cloud of ink in defense before Jacob dismissed it back to its hellish home. He then charged the undead creature that had once been Linele. His trident pierced her flesh, but much of the wound closed up immediately.

 

Qyllion swam up and around her to attack from the rear while Crow charged in as well. Once clear of the ink cloud, Mia circled around to the side, attempting to flank Linele. Cyan cast Enlarge on Crow who was able to attack from a distance with his now-massive spear.

 

Linele lashed out at Qyllion, hitting him hard, and sapping much if his life force, compelling him to break off the attack. Jacob narrowly missed the same fate, his armor deflecting her blows. He and Crow hammered away, both landing heavy blows, finally taking her down. To prevent any undead regeneration, Kensin unceremoniously chopped off her head.

 

After the throes of battle ceased, Crow felt a deep burning in his chest, the lingering aftereffects of the eel's poison draining his vigor.

 

K'vash threw the body over his shoulder and the cleric stuffed the head into a sack. Then the party explored the other end of the tunnel. Qyllion swam ahead to scout, but quickly returned, obviously retreating from some unseen menace. Before the group could decide on a course of action, a giant crab lumbered out of the darkness, claws snapping, carapace gleaming.

 

The crab swiped at Jacob. Though only one claw hit, it tore deeply into his flesh, sending a cloud of blood into the water. Kensin rushed up behind him to heal his wounds, but the crab still pressed the attack. Crow hit it from the side, and Mia moved around to find a better angle for her precision strikes. Cyan spun a spell to hide Kensin from the crab so he could heal undetected.

 

The crab then set its sights on Crow, carving a deep gash in his arm. Mia was the next victim, crushed into unconsciousness by the weight of a giant claw. Things would have been much more grim had it not been for the constant healing provided by the cleric. Assaulted from three sides, the crab succumbed to the party's combined might.

 

The rest of the tunnels were empty, so they returned to the cavern above only to find the remaining slave about to take off in one of the boats. Sheepishly, he paused, waiting for them to join him.

 

The squall had passed, but it had sunk one of their rented boats. They retrieved the other and returned to Ptolus, placating Fisk by giving him all three boats in exchange for a tarp to conceal Linele's decapitated body. Before turning in for the night, Kensin, Crow, and Jacob visited St. Gustav's, seeking an audience with Brother Fabitor.

 

Crow purchased a healing scroll, but it did little to undo the effects of the poison. Jacob sought solace from his inner demons, but Fabitor had no time to minister to him, urging him to return the following day.

 

They kept watch over Linele's body at the Ghostly Minstrel that night. Well, Kensin, Cyan, and Crow did. Mia returned home and Jacob drank himself into a stupor, ending the night in a heap in the hall by the party's door. Cyan slept fitfully.

 

The next morning, they all met in Delver's Square to confront Seanus. The halfling appeared on time, carrying adventuring gear and looking expectant. He was shocked when they informed him that the job was already complete but was mollified when they produced the watch. He took them to see Linech immediately.

 

Children played outside the entrance to Linech's burrow, but fewer guards patrolled within than the first time they had been there. The golden statue was still in place, towering over the occupants. Linech was surprised to see them, but Seanus explained the job was done. Linech asked to see the body and was visibly saddened when K'vash and Kensin produced two separate bags. But he brushed aside the melancholy to inquire about her possessions. He became quite animated when they mentioned the watch and grabbed at it greedily when Cyan produced it from the folds of his cloak.

 

Puzzled, the adventurers asked about its significance, but he ignored their questions and dismissed them after paying them the gold he promised, plus a little extra for their troubles. Then he hurried off, muttering about an important meeting.

 

As the left the compound, Crow told the others that he had learned that Linech was being targeted for death by the Balacazar crime family for losing their Shivvel operation, information that they might be able to use as leverage in future dealings with Linech. They then decided to report their progress to Count Zavere.

 

Feeling pressed for time, they headed for the Noble's Quarter in their adventuring gear, but were halted by suspicious guards at the gates who laughed off their assertion that they were journeying to Castle Shard. Even haggling and bribery failed, and they were about to return for their finery when a shadow messenger arrived at the guard tower. After a moment, the guard captain allowed them to proceed, though he grumbled mightily.

 

Creepy Cadmus greeted them at the gates, bringing deepwine for Jacob and oddly effervescent beverages for Crow which cured him of the eel poison. Zavere and Lady Rill met them in the sitting room, the latter clad in what looked like a cloud. Mia's gaze, however, was fixed on the inlaid jewels set in all the furniture, but the settings were too tight for her to filch any. Zavere was troubled to hear of the watch and Cyan's dreams, but would not expound. Instead, he turned his attention to the golden statue of Lord Abbercombe.

 

The party agreed to steal the statue. Zavere provided a cart and driver, but left the details up to them. Though Crow wanted to go in swords flashing, Mia suggested stealth, and so the group found themselves with their first thieving job.

 

First they stopped in Delver's Square to unload the loot from their underwater explorations, allowing Crow to pick up a finely crafted set of full plate at the Bull and Boar armory. Jacob, meanwhile, headed to St. Gustav's once again, but Brother Fabitor was still swamped with petitioners and had no time to speak with him. Discouraged and frustrated by this final rejection from the Church of Lothian, Jacob resolved to find his own way, without the ministrations of the clergy or the exhortations of his old god.

 

Zavere's cart and driver arrived soon after. Linech's burrow in Rivergate was quiet late that afternoon. The warriors and spellcasters posed nonchalantly outside while Mia crept up to the second story window of Linech's office where the statue was held. The room was empty and the window unlocked, so she climbed in, locked the front door, set a chair against the doorknob, and beckoned the others in. Jacob, Kensin, and Crow, the strongest of the team, entered through the window, while Cyan kept watch at one end of the road and Mia took a position at the other end.

 

Crow and Jacob easily pushed the statue across the room, securing it with two ropes. The three of them then tilted the top end out the window and slowly began lowering it into the waiting cart.

 

Mia spotted a family approaching, a mother and several small children. Reacting quickly, she clumsily picked the woman's pocket, drawing her attention away from the much more lucrative larceny around the corner. As the woman screamed and gave chase, many other people joined in, but Mia's acrobatic skills allowed her to easily outpace them. After dropping the snatched purse in a conspicuous location, she melted into the city.

 

The statue was nearly into the cart when Cyan heard the sounds of armored men from inside the burrow. Several guards walked toward him, but he engaged them in conversation just long enough to allow the others to drop the statue, leap into the cart, and pull the tarp over themselves. As the guards rounded the corner, all they saw was a scraggly horsecart rumbling off into the distance. Cyan took his leave and disappeared as well.

 

The three men hiding beneath the tarp couldn't see where they were going, but the trip was much too short to bring them to Castle Shard. Instead, they entered a dark warehouse. Lady Rill removed the tarp, beaming at them. She thanked them for saving Lord Abbercombe and paid them for a job well done. When Crow asked if he could meet Abbercombe once he was restored to health, she agreed that it might be possible. After exiting, they could see the warehouse was located in Midtown, not far from Delver's Square, and took note of its location.

 

All of the party members regrouped at the Ghostly Minstrel, flush with their newfound wealth. They decided to take a few days off to restock and pursue their own agendas before finally venturing into the depths of the Dungeon beneath the city.

 

XP

Everyone gets 630 xp.

 

Loot

Everyone already recorded their loot (except for Krylon or whatever his name is), but here it is:

From last session:

 

Kensin        = 922.4

Miassharra = 1171.2

Crow/Jacob = 1259.2

Cyan       =

 

From this session (each):

+100 from Linech

+200 from the Count

+19 "danger pay" from Linech

 

Krylon gets 1222.4 total from sessions 4 and 5

 

Discussions

 

Miassharra: During the downtime, I look for someone selling Leather Armor +1 of Easy Travel.  If I can't find anyone selling it, I'll look into getting the Dreaming Apothecary to do it.

 

DM: Unfortunately no-one seems to be selling this second hand. You will have to track down the Dreaming Apothecary. You can start at Danbury's in Delver's Square. Do you want to enchant existing armor or get brand new armor?

 

Miassharra: I want to enchant my existing armor if possible (I have +1 Leather right now), because I might not be able to afford new armor right away (unless they let me trade in my +1 for full price - it hasn't been used).  (or if you're willing to fudge things, and say that I just waited to get the Easy Travel armor)

 

Crow: [OOC] We've got about a week's downtime, right? Crow heads to Emerald Hill (is that the place with the elves and fey?) under the pretense of finding a source for Feycrafted (DMG 2) weapons and armor. While he is interested in the gear, both for Cyan and Jacob, as well as for the bonus to interaction skills for himself, he's really hoping to ingratiate himself with powerful and/or knowledgable magical beings in the hopes of shedding some light on the source of his family's strange abilites. It also never hurts to be allies with good immortals. (He speaks Elven, but not Sylvan.)

 

Umm, what happened to the slave we rescued? Assuming he didn't slink off without telling anyone, Crow gives him 5 gold to start a new life and tells him to talk to Zaid at the Ghostly Minstrel to see if he can find him some work.

 

If there's still time before we head to the Dungeon (and Crow survives the encounter with the elves), he'll spend a day or two Urban Tracking the missing girl they heard about when they first started adventuring. He'll follow her trail as far as he can and report his findings to the family and any other adventurers willing to take up the case, since he probably doesn't have time to see it through to the end.

 

Cyan [IC] Cyan will ask Crow to put in a good word for him with the Fey and to be on the lookout for any cool Druid/Wizard gear they might be offering. Cyan will venture to Darsus' abode and inquire about the Chaos Orb to see if abnything new has been revealed. He will also pour into arcane tomes and seek knowledge of more powerful spells and abilities as a mage. He will also take a day to converse with the elemental spirits and summon forth Qyllion in a new form. (Undecided at the moment)

 

Cyan [OOC] I just got back from NM and will be in attendance on Tuesday, thank Goodness! I have had zero time to look at any books to work on my level up but will try to do that this weekend as much as I can. I am therefore, since I am time strapped, soliciting opinions about whether I should take a level of druid or Wizard, I am leaning towards Wizard, what Feat I should take and what gear might be worth looking into. I know you are all busy adults yourself but any help would be appreciated if you just come across something while updating your own character. Merci.

 

Crow: [OOC] I am neither busy nor an adult. So I had time to find this. Good overview on choices for Hierophants. I'd say either Wizard or Druid is fine, but take it to 3rd level to get 2nd level spells before switching back, ending with Druid 4/Wiz 3. As for feats, I haven't looked them over, but Natural Bond (CAdv) looks good, especially if you go Wizard first. You're a transmuter, so I'm guessing you're going to be dropping polymorphs eventually? Spell Focus (transmutation) might be good, or Metamagic School Focus (trans) from CMage once you have some metamagic under your belt.

 

As for gear, a masterwork feycrafted darkwood buckler has no armor check penalty, no arcane spell failure, no penalty for nonproficiency, leaves both hands free for casting, doesn't break druid vows, can be further enchanted, and at 715g is cheaper than a mithril buckler. Also gives a +1 to Bluff for Jacob, and Mia can use one with no drawbacks, too, though she'd be fine with just a MW buckler.

 

Cyan[OOC] Yeah I have been looking at that same link prior to making this character.  Metamagic feats almost never realize their worth. At least not until you are able to cast 7th level spells or so. Maximizing fireballs is pretty sweet. Extending burning hands if not exactly the same. The same for item creation feats. they are only really worth it in rare-magic worlds. Obviously in Ptolus if you have the cash, you can get what you want. There are no inherent boundaries in this world regarding magic.

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