I realized, as I looked at the schedule, that the planned first day of Call of Cthulhu was in fact the day after Thanksgiving. I'm guessing that means at least somebody (possibly me) won't be able to make it. If I'm wrong and everybody can definitely do it, let me know in comments, but I suspect that we'll be starting Cthulhu in December instead. I also suspect we'll be having some holes in schedule thanks to various holiday festivities. Here's the schedule as I see it for November/December... but keep checking back, as I bet we'll have to amend it.
November 3rd - Borat movie at the Drafthouse (Let me know if you want to come)
November 10th - Gaming off (Wizard World Texas)
November 17th - Poker Game
November 24th - Gaming off? (Unless everyone is available for Cthulhu)
December 1st - Call of Cthulhu First Session (everybody in?)
December 8th - Call of Cthulhu
December 15th - Call of Cthulhu
December 22nd - Call of Cthulhu (unless holiday plans interrupt)
December 29th - Call of Cthulhu
Post in comments, let me (and Mat, who's running CoC) know what your schedules look like for November/December.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
A conversation between friends
The following exchange occurred in Sharn, just before the beginning of The Grasp of Emerald Claw. Jason and I played it out by email, it was great fun and I've decided to post it for everyone's perusal. Hope you enjoy - just remember, your characters don't know this stuff ;)
Lysander contacts Pel in a private place, probably the back of the shop. Lys invites him to dinner up at Lys's place to discuss a few things. If Pel accepts, (which I expect:)), he provides an expensive meal (through my house contacts) and excellent wine, and proceeds with his, er, proposition. "Pel, I'll come straight to the point. My people want you to jump ship an come work for us....now, wait, hear me out. The money is good and the House is loyal, your race, of course, would not be an issue, except for the benefit of your powers. To this point, the House has not placed me in a compromising situation with the Wolves goals and, in fact, they have been very supportive of my role and given me a great deal of freedom. This is, to the point, the most uncomfortable assignment they have given me, because I know, friend Pel, that you have been a loyal friend to me, and to your current employers. It is your nature. But I ask you, my friend, to observe this opportunity with all of the intensity of your wit and sensitivity and to consider, yes consider thoroughly, what a team we would make, moving within the same orbit, as it were. By the Dragon, man, we would shake the very foundations of this land! Ha, ha! Can you not see it? As Wolves and partners in information, oh, the stories they will tell! YOu don't need to give me an answer now, I'll deal with the impatience of my superiors, and you will remain my friend and compatriot, no matter your decision. Now, relax, have some cheese."
Pel:
A proposition both interesting and enticing, my dear friend, even moreso in light of the fact that I also have one for you.
I'll just have another piece of this delicious cheese whilst I compose my thoughts.
*Pel smiles enigmatically*
Pel chews, takes a sip of wine...and begins.
"Blissful, elegant, angelic..where did you get this wine? No, don't tell, SOME secrets should NEVER be shared."
*ahem*
"At any rate, as I say, I've a proposal of my own. Something of a counter offer, as it turns out. I agree that our, ah, abilities are quite complimentary, and working in concert we could indeed affect the nature of things far and wide. Even the stories told by future bards would no doubt be incomplete as to our true influence."
Sip.
"But such is the nature of our profession, and I digress. What I would propose to you is not a change in employment for either of us, but, rather, an informal alliance between our two interests – your house and my, ah, organization, - with the two of us, you and I, my friend, as the linchpins in the agreement. The rings of the marriage, if you will."
Pours more wine for the both.
"We would be a clearinghouse of information. We would know EVERYTHING. We would be mighty resevoirs and control the flow, upstream and down."
*stares off glassy eyed for a moment*
"Dear me, I'm a bit flush...must be the wine. I think I'll have a bit more"
Sip.
"I believe the goals of our two interests can be complimentary, and do not, as far as I'm aware, often come into conflict or compete. Much could be gained by cooperation, and if we arrange things right, we'd both have two paychecks, instead of just the one."
"Now, in order to assure friendly cooperation from my organization, there'll need to be a, um, slight change in administration. As it happens, I'm currently conceiving of a plot...or rather a scheme *smile*...to bring just that about. If it all works, it would not only achieve that, but it would also blacken the eye of several of our enemies, set them at one another, and make us some money in the bargain."
"I haven't got all the details worked out yet. I could certainly use your assistance and that of your House, putting us all in good stead with rising elements in my own organization."
"Now, if you can speak for your...I wont say "superiors", that can't be true...let's call them your "elders"...if you can speak for them, and agree in spirit to my counter-proposal, I will tell you of my scheme."
Sip.
"AND, if that is the case, we'd best order up a strong pot of klava. It's rather complex. Also, I'll warn you now, it's risky, dangerous, foolhardy, devious, and will involve deceiving a great many people...possibly even some of our friends."
"For their own good, of course. More wine?"
Lysander:
Lysander summons a lute and begins to dance his fingers across the strings, a moderate tempo in a minor key. "Well, well." *closes eyes*
"You know, it thrills me when I listen to a piece of music and the second movement begins, a counter melody or an entirely new theme, and it takes me by surprise with it's elegance or it's boldness. I do hear the beauty of the harmony you propose, friend Pel, and it seems goodly to me to follow this golden thread of melody."
*stops playing, opens eyes*
"Yes, I believe this to be beneficial to both of our houses and of course, gainful to us. What then, my brother-in-secrets, do you propose? For, in truth, it sounds like, well........fun."
Pel:
*grins*
"It pleases me my dear friend that we can sing thus in concert. If I may venture a solo, I believe I can sketch out the bones of a tune upon which you may create such lovely variations as have yet to grace a living ear."
*bows slightly*
"Who number the enemies of the Wolves? I would count among them the Emerald Claw, certain minions of the Lord of Blades, and, most recently and unfortunately, Sharri d'Deneith, and those loyal to her cause. She hates us unjustly, and while I honestly wish her no harm, I would thwart her equally unjust designs of revenge against us."
"The Claw and Blades wish us ill, requitedly, and mostly to do with this Schema they desire."
"I also have a personal enemy, and I'll confide in you some details, as a show of mutual trust and admiration. As you're aware, I've a close contact in a local organization named the Tyrants, who deal mainly in information and flesh, and mainly outside the law. That contact is closer than you may know, however, for he is in fact my father."
"He is currently the lieutenant of a certain Cord Lanner. This human has recently caused some difficulty for the Tyrants, embroiling them in a turf war with ogre gangs in the Lower Dura. He's on thin ice, and, as he once bade me kill this same father of mine who is now under his command, I bear him no love."
"Were Lanner removed, my father would assuredly take his place, giving us a most trusted, loyal, well-placed and grateful ally among the Tyrants."
"Now that you know the players in this drama, if I may style it such, shifting slightly from our musical metaphor, allow me to begin to recite for you their lines."
*ahem*
"The Schema we possess will be "stolen". Burglarized as it were. It will find it's way to my father, who will broker a deal with a "buyer" for the item, and be about to arrange delivery, when Lanner will "overhear" about the deal and decide to usurp control of the proceedings, and keep the profits and prestige for himself."
"Lanner, or his designees, will rendezvous with the "buyer" to make the exchange. However, they will be ambushed during the meeting by Warforged in service to the Lord of Blades. During this imbroglio, several members of the "Emerald Claw" will also appear, and these will make off with the Schema, making the whole thing a bust."
"Lanner, IF he survives, will be seen to've very badly botched it, which should be the last straw for his employ. If need be, my father could "recover" the item, strengthening his own position. The Lord of Blades will beleive that the Emerald Claw have it, thus potentiating a fued between the two. They'll also both then think that the Wolves no longer possess the Schema, and perhaps leave us be about it."
"Sharri d'Deneith will also take a blow, because the Blademark bodyguards that the "buyer" hired from her will fail their duty, thus compromising her and making her less able to seek her revenge."
*pause for breath and a sip of wine*
"Obviously, all is not as it seems. Now, would you like to hear the rest of the song, or can you name that tune?"
Lysander:
Lysander rises from his chair, walks out onto the terrace, whistling, then laughs as he turns back to Pel, returning to his seat.
"I almost believe I begin to perceive the theme. In fact, I am utterly convinced of it! And we happen to possess all of the proper instruments! What a stroke of providence that you should compose such a melody at this time! Ah, yes, that will make them dance! So, I understand rhythm and the step, but what of the players? Our friends can play, but would they ever consent to such a merry tune? Or is this to be a duet, supported by hired players who are talented enough to play with the leads? In any case, the score suits my style, bar by bar. Yes, friend Pel, I had believed that our relationship would prove beneficial, and now, well, I almost convinced of it! We should start this little ditty smartly, as our lives have been anything but predictable of late."
Pel:
"Our friends will have their parts to sing to be sure, but only you and I will know the full score, being the producers and conductors, as it were, of this little opera."
"The first act is pre-production. We'll make a forgery (or perhaps two) of the Schema, secreting the original safely. This facsimile will be the "stolen" item. It will differ only slightly from the original, not enough to be detected, but enough that it wouldn't function should it get away from us."
"The theft will have to appear genuine to our comrades. It's possible I may need to be "mugged". These details can be worked out later. The important part is that it's heard about."
"You and I will "investigate" the crime and "discover" the rendezvous. One of us, probably you, being the more persuaive, will suggest the Wolves disguise themselves as Emerald Claw to affect the items recovery."
"These Emerald Wolves will arrive on the scene, well-heeled, as the battle between the Warforged, Lanner's guards and the Deneith guards is well underway. We'll join in this three way fight, win, recover the "Schema" and abscond away."
"The "buyer" should be an undercover agent from your House who arrives from afar with lots of gold, and some bodyguards. He (or she) will stand back in the fight, but his gold will be taken (by us) and he may have to receive some small injury, for veracity sake, before escaping (especially from us) with his life. Afterwards he'll complain loudly and publicly about the inadequacy of his hired protectors. Black eye, Sharri."
"The Warforged will be actual real agents of the Lord of Blades. After the "schema" is "stolen", intelligence will reach their metallic ears about the time and place of the meeting, and the strength of the forces there. They won’t be able to resist such a temptation."
"It's important that the Warforged hear about it but the actual Emerald Claw don't - at least until the Lord of Blades comes knocking on their door. I think my contacts should be able to affect the proper flow of information, as this scheme is, after all, in their best interests."
"We will of course have all the necessary information from the "buyer", as he is our creature."
"The expense of this little venture should be split between your House and mine. Think of it as a signing bonus, bridge-building."
"All of this will take a little time to set up, of course - all the instruments will need to be properly tuned before we can begin to play - but if we manage this symphony of deception, my friend, oh, can you imagine?"
Lysander:
"Not only can I imagine it, my brother, I can very nearly taste it! Your deity should be proud of his spokesman! Trickster, indeed! I will begin the necessary preparation for my part. Do we have an artificer in mind for this job? Or should we be looking? Persuasion should not be a problem as at that point I can reveal the expected effect of the "Claw" retrieving the "Schema." Nicely planned, my friend, and soon, nicely played I am sure."
There was more discussion into the night, but alas, the song was left unsung, thwarted by the the treachery of the evil Emerald Claw. I hate those guys!
Lysander contacts Pel in a private place, probably the back of the shop. Lys invites him to dinner up at Lys's place to discuss a few things. If Pel accepts, (which I expect:)), he provides an expensive meal (through my house contacts) and excellent wine, and proceeds with his, er, proposition. "Pel, I'll come straight to the point. My people want you to jump ship an come work for us....now, wait, hear me out. The money is good and the House is loyal, your race, of course, would not be an issue, except for the benefit of your powers. To this point, the House has not placed me in a compromising situation with the Wolves goals and, in fact, they have been very supportive of my role and given me a great deal of freedom. This is, to the point, the most uncomfortable assignment they have given me, because I know, friend Pel, that you have been a loyal friend to me, and to your current employers. It is your nature. But I ask you, my friend, to observe this opportunity with all of the intensity of your wit and sensitivity and to consider, yes consider thoroughly, what a team we would make, moving within the same orbit, as it were. By the Dragon, man, we would shake the very foundations of this land! Ha, ha! Can you not see it? As Wolves and partners in information, oh, the stories they will tell! YOu don't need to give me an answer now, I'll deal with the impatience of my superiors, and you will remain my friend and compatriot, no matter your decision. Now, relax, have some cheese."
Pel:
A proposition both interesting and enticing, my dear friend, even moreso in light of the fact that I also have one for you.
I'll just have another piece of this delicious cheese whilst I compose my thoughts.
*Pel smiles enigmatically*
Pel chews, takes a sip of wine...and begins.
"Blissful, elegant, angelic..where did you get this wine? No, don't tell, SOME secrets should NEVER be shared."
*ahem*
"At any rate, as I say, I've a proposal of my own. Something of a counter offer, as it turns out. I agree that our, ah, abilities are quite complimentary, and working in concert we could indeed affect the nature of things far and wide. Even the stories told by future bards would no doubt be incomplete as to our true influence."
Sip.
"But such is the nature of our profession, and I digress. What I would propose to you is not a change in employment for either of us, but, rather, an informal alliance between our two interests – your house and my, ah, organization, - with the two of us, you and I, my friend, as the linchpins in the agreement. The rings of the marriage, if you will."
Pours more wine for the both.
"We would be a clearinghouse of information. We would know EVERYTHING. We would be mighty resevoirs and control the flow, upstream and down."
*stares off glassy eyed for a moment*
"Dear me, I'm a bit flush...must be the wine. I think I'll have a bit more"
Sip.
"I believe the goals of our two interests can be complimentary, and do not, as far as I'm aware, often come into conflict or compete. Much could be gained by cooperation, and if we arrange things right, we'd both have two paychecks, instead of just the one."
"Now, in order to assure friendly cooperation from my organization, there'll need to be a, um, slight change in administration. As it happens, I'm currently conceiving of a plot...or rather a scheme *smile*...to bring just that about. If it all works, it would not only achieve that, but it would also blacken the eye of several of our enemies, set them at one another, and make us some money in the bargain."
"I haven't got all the details worked out yet. I could certainly use your assistance and that of your House, putting us all in good stead with rising elements in my own organization."
"Now, if you can speak for your...I wont say "superiors", that can't be true...let's call them your "elders"...if you can speak for them, and agree in spirit to my counter-proposal, I will tell you of my scheme."
Sip.
"AND, if that is the case, we'd best order up a strong pot of klava. It's rather complex. Also, I'll warn you now, it's risky, dangerous, foolhardy, devious, and will involve deceiving a great many people...possibly even some of our friends."
"For their own good, of course. More wine?"
Lysander:
Lysander summons a lute and begins to dance his fingers across the strings, a moderate tempo in a minor key. "Well, well." *closes eyes*
"You know, it thrills me when I listen to a piece of music and the second movement begins, a counter melody or an entirely new theme, and it takes me by surprise with it's elegance or it's boldness. I do hear the beauty of the harmony you propose, friend Pel, and it seems goodly to me to follow this golden thread of melody."
*stops playing, opens eyes*
"Yes, I believe this to be beneficial to both of our houses and of course, gainful to us. What then, my brother-in-secrets, do you propose? For, in truth, it sounds like, well........fun."
Pel:
*grins*
"It pleases me my dear friend that we can sing thus in concert. If I may venture a solo, I believe I can sketch out the bones of a tune upon which you may create such lovely variations as have yet to grace a living ear."
*bows slightly*
"Who number the enemies of the Wolves? I would count among them the Emerald Claw, certain minions of the Lord of Blades, and, most recently and unfortunately, Sharri d'Deneith, and those loyal to her cause. She hates us unjustly, and while I honestly wish her no harm, I would thwart her equally unjust designs of revenge against us."
"The Claw and Blades wish us ill, requitedly, and mostly to do with this Schema they desire."
"I also have a personal enemy, and I'll confide in you some details, as a show of mutual trust and admiration. As you're aware, I've a close contact in a local organization named the Tyrants, who deal mainly in information and flesh, and mainly outside the law. That contact is closer than you may know, however, for he is in fact my father."
"He is currently the lieutenant of a certain Cord Lanner. This human has recently caused some difficulty for the Tyrants, embroiling them in a turf war with ogre gangs in the Lower Dura. He's on thin ice, and, as he once bade me kill this same father of mine who is now under his command, I bear him no love."
"Were Lanner removed, my father would assuredly take his place, giving us a most trusted, loyal, well-placed and grateful ally among the Tyrants."
"Now that you know the players in this drama, if I may style it such, shifting slightly from our musical metaphor, allow me to begin to recite for you their lines."
*ahem*
"The Schema we possess will be "stolen". Burglarized as it were. It will find it's way to my father, who will broker a deal with a "buyer" for the item, and be about to arrange delivery, when Lanner will "overhear" about the deal and decide to usurp control of the proceedings, and keep the profits and prestige for himself."
"Lanner, or his designees, will rendezvous with the "buyer" to make the exchange. However, they will be ambushed during the meeting by Warforged in service to the Lord of Blades. During this imbroglio, several members of the "Emerald Claw" will also appear, and these will make off with the Schema, making the whole thing a bust."
"Lanner, IF he survives, will be seen to've very badly botched it, which should be the last straw for his employ. If need be, my father could "recover" the item, strengthening his own position. The Lord of Blades will beleive that the Emerald Claw have it, thus potentiating a fued between the two. They'll also both then think that the Wolves no longer possess the Schema, and perhaps leave us be about it."
"Sharri d'Deneith will also take a blow, because the Blademark bodyguards that the "buyer" hired from her will fail their duty, thus compromising her and making her less able to seek her revenge."
*pause for breath and a sip of wine*
"Obviously, all is not as it seems. Now, would you like to hear the rest of the song, or can you name that tune?"
Lysander:
Lysander rises from his chair, walks out onto the terrace, whistling, then laughs as he turns back to Pel, returning to his seat.
"I almost believe I begin to perceive the theme. In fact, I am utterly convinced of it! And we happen to possess all of the proper instruments! What a stroke of providence that you should compose such a melody at this time! Ah, yes, that will make them dance! So, I understand rhythm and the step, but what of the players? Our friends can play, but would they ever consent to such a merry tune? Or is this to be a duet, supported by hired players who are talented enough to play with the leads? In any case, the score suits my style, bar by bar. Yes, friend Pel, I had believed that our relationship would prove beneficial, and now, well, I almost convinced of it! We should start this little ditty smartly, as our lives have been anything but predictable of late."
Pel:
"Our friends will have their parts to sing to be sure, but only you and I will know the full score, being the producers and conductors, as it were, of this little opera."
"The first act is pre-production. We'll make a forgery (or perhaps two) of the Schema, secreting the original safely. This facsimile will be the "stolen" item. It will differ only slightly from the original, not enough to be detected, but enough that it wouldn't function should it get away from us."
"The theft will have to appear genuine to our comrades. It's possible I may need to be "mugged". These details can be worked out later. The important part is that it's heard about."
"You and I will "investigate" the crime and "discover" the rendezvous. One of us, probably you, being the more persuaive, will suggest the Wolves disguise themselves as Emerald Claw to affect the items recovery."
"These Emerald Wolves will arrive on the scene, well-heeled, as the battle between the Warforged, Lanner's guards and the Deneith guards is well underway. We'll join in this three way fight, win, recover the "Schema" and abscond away."
"The "buyer" should be an undercover agent from your House who arrives from afar with lots of gold, and some bodyguards. He (or she) will stand back in the fight, but his gold will be taken (by us) and he may have to receive some small injury, for veracity sake, before escaping (especially from us) with his life. Afterwards he'll complain loudly and publicly about the inadequacy of his hired protectors. Black eye, Sharri."
"The Warforged will be actual real agents of the Lord of Blades. After the "schema" is "stolen", intelligence will reach their metallic ears about the time and place of the meeting, and the strength of the forces there. They won’t be able to resist such a temptation."
"It's important that the Warforged hear about it but the actual Emerald Claw don't - at least until the Lord of Blades comes knocking on their door. I think my contacts should be able to affect the proper flow of information, as this scheme is, after all, in their best interests."
"We will of course have all the necessary information from the "buyer", as he is our creature."
"The expense of this little venture should be split between your House and mine. Think of it as a signing bonus, bridge-building."
"All of this will take a little time to set up, of course - all the instruments will need to be properly tuned before we can begin to play - but if we manage this symphony of deception, my friend, oh, can you imagine?"
Lysander:
"Not only can I imagine it, my brother, I can very nearly taste it! Your deity should be proud of his spokesman! Trickster, indeed! I will begin the necessary preparation for my part. Do we have an artificer in mind for this job? Or should we be looking? Persuasion should not be a problem as at that point I can reveal the expected effect of the "Claw" retrieving the "Schema." Nicely planned, my friend, and soon, nicely played I am sure."
There was more discussion into the night, but alas, the song was left unsung, thwarted by the the treachery of the evil Emerald Claw. I hate those guys!
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Eberron Campaign Notes & Questions - PLEASE READ and COMMENT
First of all, one last move on the schedule. We're going to go ahead and start Cthulhu on the last week of November, so that hopefully everybody can be there. Character creation shouldn't take that long, and I think Mat is hoping to get us started that same night, so it's best if everyone who is going to play is there for it. Also, there is apparently a "credits sequence" of sorts not unlike the Eberron slideshow I did for you guys originally, and you'll all want to be there for that. So hopefully everybody can make the last weekend in November?
So check the schedule. I changed the last week of October to be sort of a casual hang out day, watch movies/DVDs, play some D&D miniatures maybe, play some PS/2 games, that kind of thing. First week of November Borat opens, and I'm definitely going to see it at the Drafthouse... anyone who wants to come is welcome.
Now then... since we have some time before the next Eberron game, I wondered if y'all would answer some questions in the comments. Help me figure out what to do next in the campaign!
Favorites:
Do me a favor and indicate your favorite, and feel free and include a least favorite as well.
Favorite Villain: Doesn't matter if they're alive or dead, it'll help me figure out what you guys like in a villain
Favorite Location: Specific (the Ruined Giant Citadel in VOTGD) or general (Trolanport, The Mournland) equally welcome. Please feel free to name more than one.
Favorite Adventure: Self-explanatory here
Moments:
If y'all could give me five of your favorite moments from the campaign thus far, either ones that happened to your character, someone else's character, or the party of the whole, that would help me in developing the future adventures.
I'd Like to See:
Tell me about any monsters or organizations you think you'd like to run into, which nations of Eberron you'd like to explore and anything you'd like to see more of. Dragonmarked House intrigue? A mission from House Phiarlan? Trouble and strife in the crime families of Sharn? Dungeon crawling through ruins in Xen'drik, the Mournlands, the Demon Wastes, etc.?
Character Goals:
If any of you have goals for your characters, whether short-term or long-term, let me know so I can plan for those as well.
So check the schedule. I changed the last week of October to be sort of a casual hang out day, watch movies/DVDs, play some D&D miniatures maybe, play some PS/2 games, that kind of thing. First week of November Borat opens, and I'm definitely going to see it at the Drafthouse... anyone who wants to come is welcome.
Now then... since we have some time before the next Eberron game, I wondered if y'all would answer some questions in the comments. Help me figure out what to do next in the campaign!
Favorites:
Do me a favor and indicate your favorite, and feel free and include a least favorite as well.
Favorite Villain: Doesn't matter if they're alive or dead, it'll help me figure out what you guys like in a villain
Favorite Location: Specific (the Ruined Giant Citadel in VOTGD) or general (Trolanport, The Mournland) equally welcome. Please feel free to name more than one.
Favorite Adventure: Self-explanatory here
Moments:
If y'all could give me five of your favorite moments from the campaign thus far, either ones that happened to your character, someone else's character, or the party of the whole, that would help me in developing the future adventures.
I'd Like to See:
Tell me about any monsters or organizations you think you'd like to run into, which nations of Eberron you'd like to explore and anything you'd like to see more of. Dragonmarked House intrigue? A mission from House Phiarlan? Trouble and strife in the crime families of Sharn? Dungeon crawling through ruins in Xen'drik, the Mournlands, the Demon Wastes, etc.?
Character Goals:
If any of you have goals for your characters, whether short-term or long-term, let me know so I can plan for those as well.
Eberron Adventure Journal: Voyage of the Golden Dragon (3)
Vult 5 - Vult 8, YK 998
Part Three - Ruins of the Giants:
After resting overnight, the Wolves emerged to eat breakfast and see what they could work out about the murder of the ambassador from Thrane and the scribe from Karrnath. Pel used a locate object spell to try and find Gunter based on his robes, but after walking through all three levels of the ship, was able to confirm that the scribe's body was not aboard.
The Golden Dragon was relatively quiet now that so many passengers were either dead, confined to their quarters or laying low to avoid the chaos of the previous day. The Wolves pretty much had the run of the ship, and with the rain subsiding, they were able to spend some time up on the deck as well as in the reception hall. They spent a lot of time trying to figure out the truth of the assassinations, and investigating any remaining suspects on board.
That mostly meant Torren Blackfingers, the gnome artificer who had taken up long-term residence in the luxury suite. After trying to work out a way to infiltrate his room without the House Medani sentries getting wise, Pel and Lysander finally realized it was too much risk for too little reward, and marked Torren off the suspects list without any more information to go on.
They did come up with a theory that perhaps Gunter had faked his death and left the ship, and even that he might have been Emerald Claw. This would turn out to be dead on, although they wouldn't learn this until days later. A major clue to confirm this hypothesis came the next morning, when Pel used his locate object and found an empty poison packet inside the coffin that had held Gunter, and now held Cardinal Bethenade's body.
In addition, they were approached by Halas Martain, who was planning to go out into Xen'drik and investigate a Ruined Giant Citadel he had been searching for. He asked the Wolves to come along, given how they had proved their mettle during the voyage. Lysander was intrigued by the possibility of stories, and Tworock by the potential for killing giants, and so they agreed quickly to his proposal.
Early in the morning on Vult 6, the Golden Dragon sailed over the city of Stormreach. As they docked at the Lyrandar tower, Captain Alastair presented each member of the Wolves with a letter of credit for 1,000 gp. "The Last War may have sparked as a result of what went on here, but I can't help but think things would have been much worse without you on board."
As they boarded a skiff on loan to Halas Martain, the captain told them that the ship would depart in about two weeks, on the afternoon of Vult 20.
The journey into Xen'drik, roughly 12 miles into the jungle according to Martain's maps and directions, took two days aboard the airborne skiff. During that journey, Martain pointed out numerous flora and fauna and regaled the Wolves with tales of his adventures. His storytelling was a bit blustery and obnoxious, but Tworock was convinced that whatever else was true of him, Halas Martain had clearly spent a lot of time in Xen'drik and knew a great deal about it.
On the morning of Vult 8, Martain turned the skiff and coasted free of the jungle canopy, revealing a massive ruined giant temple that existed inside of a cliff face. A waterfall spilled down the face of the cliff and into a hole in the temple, forming a stream that poured down the stairs of the temple and met the hot ground, creating a field of hot mud and clouds of steam in front of the entrance.
Halas Martain set the skiff down just clear of the mud, grabbed his pack and began moving forward. The Wolves joined him, and soon they were wading into the hot red and brown mud, which came up to just above their waists. The mud was hot, heated by underground geysers that would occasionally spurt mud into the air, but it wasn't damaging. As the Wolves began swimming through the mud, though, the geysers began venting their steam and mud more violently, and they realized that they were being surrounded by segmented wormlike creatures, glowing with orange-white heat, that emerged from underneath the mud.
"Move through them!" Halas yelled as he tried to swim past the monsters. Tworock manifested his force screen and moved forward, but as he did, one of the creatures sprung out of the mud and slammed into him, and the creature was hot enough to burn even the fire resistant half giant. As Pel swam through the mud, he recognized the creatures from his studies in the library as Thoqqua, creatures from the plane of elemental fire. Lysander and Luggoth began swimming through as well, and the creatures began springing out at everyone, striking both Luggoth and Halas Martain.
As the Wolves and Halas moved towards the steam, the Thoqqua continued to attack, burning each of the adventurers at least once. Tworock was the first to reach the steam, and he discovered that it was not unoccupied. He was swarmed by Steam Mephits, who scalded him with their hot steam breath weapons before unleashing a rain of boiling water on the adventurers as everyone made their way into the steam clouds.
Once inside the steam, the adventurers could see that there were stairs pouring water down into the mud fields. Halas swam toward the stairs, yelling out "Get to the stairs!" Tworock had suffered enough, and swung his greatsword at one of the Mephits, easily cutting it down. The Thoqqua and Mephits continued to harry the adventurers, who climbed up the giant sized stairs, as Tworock psionically enlarged himself to block the path behind them.
Tworock suffered a number of attacks from the Thoqqua, blinded and scalded as he was by the Mephits, but he gave the others time to climb the stairs, and finally climbed up himself. After killing another Mephit, the rest of them fled into the steam cloud, and the Thoqqua sunk back beneath the mud.
After washing some of the mud off themselves and giving Tworock some healing, the Wolves moved forward. Standing at the lip of the entrance, they saw three bronze statues of trolls in full battle regalia. Halas Martain stepped forward and yelled in Giant a pass phrase. Tworock, who spoke Giant, used his autohypnosis to memorize the pass phrase for the future.
The massive chamber was 100 feet tall, and carved out of obsidian. Standing about 50 feet down the hall, there was a massive obsidian statue of a great cyclopean king, itself about 40 feet tall. Halas Martain asked Pel to advance, keeping a "wary eye out for traps, my friend." Pel kept an eye out and detected a massive pressure plate surrounding the statue. Given the immense size of the pressure plate and the sheer walls, there was no easy way around, and so he attempted to temporarily disarm the trap, but his attempt succeeded in activating the trap, and a ray of enervation blasted out from the king, striking Pel and draining some of his life energy.
Pel moved back and used the scroll of restoration on himself. Rather than attempt to disarm again, Tworock used his psionic levitation, pulling himself along the wall and carrying two people at a time past the statue and the pressure plate. Once past the pressure plate, they had entered the main chamber, which was hundreds of feet wide and long. The roar of the waterfall pouring through the ceiling drowned out all noise, and the Wolves moved cautiously forward. Halas Martain looked down into the pool and spotted a glint of silver, but no one was willing to swim down through the crushing waterfall to see what it was.
As they all began looking around the waterfall and staring at the giant pillars which ran up to the ceiling, Luggoth spotted giant-sized skeletal tracks, and thought he heard something, even through the noise of the waterfall. Seconds later, he realized what he saw as the skeletons of an Ettin and three trolls advanced on the party.
Lysander began singing, his voice cutting clearly through the sound of the waterfall and inspiring the Wolves. The Ettin and two of the trolls moved in on Luggoth, with the Ettin landing a solid club blow on the shifter, who responded by shifting into his animal form and tearing into one of the nearby troll skeletons.
Tworock once again psionically enlarged himself, and the Wolves joined in battle. The Ettin skeleton engaged Tworock and Luggoth, while the trolls attacked Luggoth and Pel. Luggoth was tearing into the skeletal trolls, but his sharp weapon wasn't the best tool for use against the skeletons. Tworock's flail, however, was a handy weapon and he began bashing chips out of the Ettin skeleton. He also yelled for Halas Martain to join the fight, as he noticed the treasure hunter hanging back.
Halas pulled out his bow, running to join Pel at the rear of the fight. As Lysander, Tworock and Luggoth engaged the Ettin and two of the trolls, the other troll skeleton charged at Halas and Pel. Pel pulled out his magic missile wand while Halas fired mostly ineffective arrows, as Luggoth slashed his sword and shattered one of the trolls to bits.
The Ettin and trolls landed more solid blows on Tworock, who responded by smashing the Ettin to bits with his flail. Pel blasted away at the troll with magic missiles as it clawed at him, while Tworock battled with another troll until Luggoth moved in and finished it off with his greatsword.
Badly damaged from this fight and the previous one, Tworock ran up the pillar and out of reach, and Lysander moved in to attack the troll on his own. Luggoth moved to join him, but slipped in the water as he was charging and failed to connect with his sword. Halas concentrated his arrow fire on the troll, doing some minor damage, and as Lysander pulled back, Luggoth regained his footing and smashed the last remaining troll.
Angry with Halas for his ineffectivenes and for nearly hitting him with an arrow, Luggoth rushed at the treasure hunter. Halas offered a potion of cure moderate wounds as a peace offering, but he still found himself threatened by the angry shifter, who called him both cowardly and incompetent.
Moving forward into the chamber, Pel and Halas discovered a chamber filled with bats. It looked like it had once been a shrine to some forgotten god, but now it was empty except for broken stone and bats. Moving along the wall, Pel began searching for traps and found instead an illusory wall. While his hand was through, something swung at him but missed.
Tworock levitated up to what he thought would be a safe distance and poked his head in. There he saw several things. For one thing, he saw row upon row of sarcophagi containing the skeletons of trolls, ettins and giants. For another, he saw Gunter Hegerin, very much alive and wearing the robes of a necromancer of the Blood of Vol. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he saw four troll skeletons, and one Cloud Giant skeleton. The latter swung its morningstar hard at Tworock, who was very much inside the massive undead's reach, and it connected its morningstar solidly with Tworock's head.
The troll skeletons rushed out of the illusory wall and swarmed Halas Martain, cutting him and knocking him, bleeding and unconscious, to the floor. Gunter, covered in defensive magics including mirror image and stoneskin, fired a ray of enfeeblement that missed Tworock, who quickly ducked back out and levitated 40 feet up, trying to get clear and heal himself from the many wounds he had suffered.
Lysander, seeing the forces arrayed against them, turned invisible and moved towards Pel, who was now under attack from the trolls. Before they could kill him, Lysander cast invisiblity on Pel as well. Luggoth shifted once more, flew into a rage and leaped through the wall, attacking the Cloud Giant skeleton for a mostly negligible effect. In return, the Cloud Giant swung its morningstar and smashed Luggoth twice, dealing an amount of damage that would have killed most other men.
Gunter cast improved invisibility upon himself, and then, to complete the chain of invisibility, Halas stopped feigning unconsciousness and drank his own potion of invisibility. Badly wounded, Luggoth fled out of the room, though not before Pel could cast a cure moderate wounds on him.
What then ensued was something similar to modern sub warfare, as most of the combatants were invisible to the others. Tworock and Luggoth, as the visible members of the party, were to draw the most attacks.
As the Cloud Giant and trolls roamed the massive chamber looking for Luggoth, Gunter cast Evard's Black Tentacles on the area, nearly trapping Lysander and Pel. However, they managed to move out of the area without giving away their location. Gunter began taunting them, claiming that he would add them to his army of the undead, and Tworock picked up on this as a way to find the arrogant necromancer and began trying to draw him out.
Gunter continued to yell out threats, which allowed Pel to guess at his location and move toward him. However, Gunter also continued to fire off spells, hitting Tworock with magic missiles, a ray of exhaustion and a ray of enfeeblement. As Lysander also moved toward where he thought Gunter was, drinking his last potion of heroism, Luggoth dodged between some of the trolls and caught the attention of the Cloud Giant skeleton.
Tworock began firing his bow at the Cloud Giant for minimal effect as it moved in and once again smashed Luggoth with its morningstar. The trolls disengaged, moving to block the exit, as Lysander cast a scroll of haste to empower everyone but Tworock, who was on the ceiling and out of range. Pel used his oil of keen edge on his rapier, struck at where he'd guessed Gunter was, and was pleased to hear the necromancer cry out in pain. Gunter struck back at the now visible Pel, though, leeching his energy with a vampiric touch, and as Pel crumpled to the floor, Lysander realized that the spell had probably healed Gunter's damage.
The Cloud Giant continued to swing at Luggoth, who dodged once thanks to his haste, but then suffered another solid blow, very nearly knocking him unconscious. Before fleeing the fight, he managed to hit Gunter as well. Lysander tried to use a vial of ink to spot Gunter, but he missed, and a splat of ink appeared on the wall. Meanwhile, Tworock used his dorje of skate and began moving quickly down the wall to where they thought the necromancer was.
Gunter responded with another ray of enfeeblement, this time draining much of Lysander's strength, but he suffered an attack of opportunity from Luggoth as a result. Tworock dropped his bow and drew his flail, psionically summoning animal affinity to make up for his lost strength.
As the Cloud Giant chased Luggoth around the room, Lysander healed Pel back up to consciousness, and Luggoth shifted back to his human form. The Cloud Giant moved in and attacked Tworock, who had now reached the ground, hitting the half-giant with a solid blow of his morningstar. Everyone then ran away to get clear of the Cloud Giant, knowing that any one of them would be killed by another hit from the massive undead creature.
Then Gunter's invisibility ended, and he stood revealed. Pel began trying desperately to activate his magic missiles, but the stress of the situation and the life-threatening damage he'd sustained made it nearly impossible for him. Luggoth began firing arrows, destroying mirror images, and Tworock used his psionic stomp to knock both Gunter and the Cloud Giant down for a brief time, giving the Wolves time to regroup and focus their attacks on the necromancer.
Gunter stood up and used a vampiric touch on Tworock, and Lysander activated his dragon mark to summon a shadow wall of flame around the Cloud Giant, as Luggoth moved in and struck Gunter again.
As the Cloud Giant swung and narrowly missed Lysander, and Gunter missed him with a ghoul's touch, Lysander struck back with his rapier and destroyed what remained of Gunter's stoneskin. Luggoth fired three more arrows, destroying the remaining mirror images and putting Gunter down with an arrow in his chest. The Cloud Giant turned on the creatures who had defeated its master, and things looked fairly dire for the wounded and exhausted Wolves.
Then Halas Martain emerged from the other chamber, carrying some sort of stone tablets, and he spoke words in the Giant tongue that froze the Cloud Giant in place. He apologized for his seeming cowardice, and told them that he had been searching for a way to stop the skeletons, and he found it amongst the sarcophagi in the back room. The Wolves weren't entirely buying this, but they did owe Halas their lives at this point, so they didn't push it.
After Pel stabilized Gunter with a cure minor wounds, he bound and gagged the still unconscious necromancer. Then they all turned to Halas and asked him what else he had found. He reluctantly produced a Khyber dragonshard from his bag, claiming that he had found two, but Pel knew he was lying, and pushed at him. Halas handed two more out and admitted that there were six. He argued that he should keep half, since he had discovered the Ruined Citadel, and no one was much in the mood to fight about it.
In the shadow of the inert Cloud Giant skeleton, the Wolves and Martain camped and rested for 8 hours, taking turns at guard. They made sure the troll skeletons, who had left the citadel during the fight, weren't coming back. They watched the Cloud Giant to make sure it didn't come back to active life. They made sure that whenever Gunter stirred, he was knocked back unconscious. And they made sure that Halas didn't make off with anything.
After resting, they emerged in the late afternoon to find four dead half-orc Tharask bounty hunters, clearly killed in a pitched battle with the troll skeletons. Before they had fled into the jungle, the skeletons had also destroyed the skiff. Fortunately, the Tharask bounty hunters had left behind four warhorses. Unfortunately, the Wolves were now stuck deep in the Xen'drik jungle, and they had to get back to Stormreach in less than two weeks to produce Gunter and prevent the Last War from breaking out all over again.
XP:
Luggoth 2400
Lysander 2400
Pel 3000
Tworock 3000
Part Three - Ruins of the Giants:
After resting overnight, the Wolves emerged to eat breakfast and see what they could work out about the murder of the ambassador from Thrane and the scribe from Karrnath. Pel used a locate object spell to try and find Gunter based on his robes, but after walking through all three levels of the ship, was able to confirm that the scribe's body was not aboard.
The Golden Dragon was relatively quiet now that so many passengers were either dead, confined to their quarters or laying low to avoid the chaos of the previous day. The Wolves pretty much had the run of the ship, and with the rain subsiding, they were able to spend some time up on the deck as well as in the reception hall. They spent a lot of time trying to figure out the truth of the assassinations, and investigating any remaining suspects on board.
That mostly meant Torren Blackfingers, the gnome artificer who had taken up long-term residence in the luxury suite. After trying to work out a way to infiltrate his room without the House Medani sentries getting wise, Pel and Lysander finally realized it was too much risk for too little reward, and marked Torren off the suspects list without any more information to go on.
They did come up with a theory that perhaps Gunter had faked his death and left the ship, and even that he might have been Emerald Claw. This would turn out to be dead on, although they wouldn't learn this until days later. A major clue to confirm this hypothesis came the next morning, when Pel used his locate object and found an empty poison packet inside the coffin that had held Gunter, and now held Cardinal Bethenade's body.
In addition, they were approached by Halas Martain, who was planning to go out into Xen'drik and investigate a Ruined Giant Citadel he had been searching for. He asked the Wolves to come along, given how they had proved their mettle during the voyage. Lysander was intrigued by the possibility of stories, and Tworock by the potential for killing giants, and so they agreed quickly to his proposal.
Early in the morning on Vult 6, the Golden Dragon sailed over the city of Stormreach. As they docked at the Lyrandar tower, Captain Alastair presented each member of the Wolves with a letter of credit for 1,000 gp. "The Last War may have sparked as a result of what went on here, but I can't help but think things would have been much worse without you on board."
As they boarded a skiff on loan to Halas Martain, the captain told them that the ship would depart in about two weeks, on the afternoon of Vult 20.
The journey into Xen'drik, roughly 12 miles into the jungle according to Martain's maps and directions, took two days aboard the airborne skiff. During that journey, Martain pointed out numerous flora and fauna and regaled the Wolves with tales of his adventures. His storytelling was a bit blustery and obnoxious, but Tworock was convinced that whatever else was true of him, Halas Martain had clearly spent a lot of time in Xen'drik and knew a great deal about it.
On the morning of Vult 8, Martain turned the skiff and coasted free of the jungle canopy, revealing a massive ruined giant temple that existed inside of a cliff face. A waterfall spilled down the face of the cliff and into a hole in the temple, forming a stream that poured down the stairs of the temple and met the hot ground, creating a field of hot mud and clouds of steam in front of the entrance.
Halas Martain set the skiff down just clear of the mud, grabbed his pack and began moving forward. The Wolves joined him, and soon they were wading into the hot red and brown mud, which came up to just above their waists. The mud was hot, heated by underground geysers that would occasionally spurt mud into the air, but it wasn't damaging. As the Wolves began swimming through the mud, though, the geysers began venting their steam and mud more violently, and they realized that they were being surrounded by segmented wormlike creatures, glowing with orange-white heat, that emerged from underneath the mud.
"Move through them!" Halas yelled as he tried to swim past the monsters. Tworock manifested his force screen and moved forward, but as he did, one of the creatures sprung out of the mud and slammed into him, and the creature was hot enough to burn even the fire resistant half giant. As Pel swam through the mud, he recognized the creatures from his studies in the library as Thoqqua, creatures from the plane of elemental fire. Lysander and Luggoth began swimming through as well, and the creatures began springing out at everyone, striking both Luggoth and Halas Martain.
As the Wolves and Halas moved towards the steam, the Thoqqua continued to attack, burning each of the adventurers at least once. Tworock was the first to reach the steam, and he discovered that it was not unoccupied. He was swarmed by Steam Mephits, who scalded him with their hot steam breath weapons before unleashing a rain of boiling water on the adventurers as everyone made their way into the steam clouds.
Once inside the steam, the adventurers could see that there were stairs pouring water down into the mud fields. Halas swam toward the stairs, yelling out "Get to the stairs!" Tworock had suffered enough, and swung his greatsword at one of the Mephits, easily cutting it down. The Thoqqua and Mephits continued to harry the adventurers, who climbed up the giant sized stairs, as Tworock psionically enlarged himself to block the path behind them.
Tworock suffered a number of attacks from the Thoqqua, blinded and scalded as he was by the Mephits, but he gave the others time to climb the stairs, and finally climbed up himself. After killing another Mephit, the rest of them fled into the steam cloud, and the Thoqqua sunk back beneath the mud.
After washing some of the mud off themselves and giving Tworock some healing, the Wolves moved forward. Standing at the lip of the entrance, they saw three bronze statues of trolls in full battle regalia. Halas Martain stepped forward and yelled in Giant a pass phrase. Tworock, who spoke Giant, used his autohypnosis to memorize the pass phrase for the future.
The massive chamber was 100 feet tall, and carved out of obsidian. Standing about 50 feet down the hall, there was a massive obsidian statue of a great cyclopean king, itself about 40 feet tall. Halas Martain asked Pel to advance, keeping a "wary eye out for traps, my friend." Pel kept an eye out and detected a massive pressure plate surrounding the statue. Given the immense size of the pressure plate and the sheer walls, there was no easy way around, and so he attempted to temporarily disarm the trap, but his attempt succeeded in activating the trap, and a ray of enervation blasted out from the king, striking Pel and draining some of his life energy.
Pel moved back and used the scroll of restoration on himself. Rather than attempt to disarm again, Tworock used his psionic levitation, pulling himself along the wall and carrying two people at a time past the statue and the pressure plate. Once past the pressure plate, they had entered the main chamber, which was hundreds of feet wide and long. The roar of the waterfall pouring through the ceiling drowned out all noise, and the Wolves moved cautiously forward. Halas Martain looked down into the pool and spotted a glint of silver, but no one was willing to swim down through the crushing waterfall to see what it was.
As they all began looking around the waterfall and staring at the giant pillars which ran up to the ceiling, Luggoth spotted giant-sized skeletal tracks, and thought he heard something, even through the noise of the waterfall. Seconds later, he realized what he saw as the skeletons of an Ettin and three trolls advanced on the party.
Lysander began singing, his voice cutting clearly through the sound of the waterfall and inspiring the Wolves. The Ettin and two of the trolls moved in on Luggoth, with the Ettin landing a solid club blow on the shifter, who responded by shifting into his animal form and tearing into one of the nearby troll skeletons.
Tworock once again psionically enlarged himself, and the Wolves joined in battle. The Ettin skeleton engaged Tworock and Luggoth, while the trolls attacked Luggoth and Pel. Luggoth was tearing into the skeletal trolls, but his sharp weapon wasn't the best tool for use against the skeletons. Tworock's flail, however, was a handy weapon and he began bashing chips out of the Ettin skeleton. He also yelled for Halas Martain to join the fight, as he noticed the treasure hunter hanging back.
Halas pulled out his bow, running to join Pel at the rear of the fight. As Lysander, Tworock and Luggoth engaged the Ettin and two of the trolls, the other troll skeleton charged at Halas and Pel. Pel pulled out his magic missile wand while Halas fired mostly ineffective arrows, as Luggoth slashed his sword and shattered one of the trolls to bits.
The Ettin and trolls landed more solid blows on Tworock, who responded by smashing the Ettin to bits with his flail. Pel blasted away at the troll with magic missiles as it clawed at him, while Tworock battled with another troll until Luggoth moved in and finished it off with his greatsword.
Badly damaged from this fight and the previous one, Tworock ran up the pillar and out of reach, and Lysander moved in to attack the troll on his own. Luggoth moved to join him, but slipped in the water as he was charging and failed to connect with his sword. Halas concentrated his arrow fire on the troll, doing some minor damage, and as Lysander pulled back, Luggoth regained his footing and smashed the last remaining troll.
Angry with Halas for his ineffectivenes and for nearly hitting him with an arrow, Luggoth rushed at the treasure hunter. Halas offered a potion of cure moderate wounds as a peace offering, but he still found himself threatened by the angry shifter, who called him both cowardly and incompetent.
Moving forward into the chamber, Pel and Halas discovered a chamber filled with bats. It looked like it had once been a shrine to some forgotten god, but now it was empty except for broken stone and bats. Moving along the wall, Pel began searching for traps and found instead an illusory wall. While his hand was through, something swung at him but missed.
Tworock levitated up to what he thought would be a safe distance and poked his head in. There he saw several things. For one thing, he saw row upon row of sarcophagi containing the skeletons of trolls, ettins and giants. For another, he saw Gunter Hegerin, very much alive and wearing the robes of a necromancer of the Blood of Vol. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he saw four troll skeletons, and one Cloud Giant skeleton. The latter swung its morningstar hard at Tworock, who was very much inside the massive undead's reach, and it connected its morningstar solidly with Tworock's head.
The troll skeletons rushed out of the illusory wall and swarmed Halas Martain, cutting him and knocking him, bleeding and unconscious, to the floor. Gunter, covered in defensive magics including mirror image and stoneskin, fired a ray of enfeeblement that missed Tworock, who quickly ducked back out and levitated 40 feet up, trying to get clear and heal himself from the many wounds he had suffered.
Lysander, seeing the forces arrayed against them, turned invisible and moved towards Pel, who was now under attack from the trolls. Before they could kill him, Lysander cast invisiblity on Pel as well. Luggoth shifted once more, flew into a rage and leaped through the wall, attacking the Cloud Giant skeleton for a mostly negligible effect. In return, the Cloud Giant swung its morningstar and smashed Luggoth twice, dealing an amount of damage that would have killed most other men.
Gunter cast improved invisibility upon himself, and then, to complete the chain of invisibility, Halas stopped feigning unconsciousness and drank his own potion of invisibility. Badly wounded, Luggoth fled out of the room, though not before Pel could cast a cure moderate wounds on him.
What then ensued was something similar to modern sub warfare, as most of the combatants were invisible to the others. Tworock and Luggoth, as the visible members of the party, were to draw the most attacks.
As the Cloud Giant and trolls roamed the massive chamber looking for Luggoth, Gunter cast Evard's Black Tentacles on the area, nearly trapping Lysander and Pel. However, they managed to move out of the area without giving away their location. Gunter began taunting them, claiming that he would add them to his army of the undead, and Tworock picked up on this as a way to find the arrogant necromancer and began trying to draw him out.
Gunter continued to yell out threats, which allowed Pel to guess at his location and move toward him. However, Gunter also continued to fire off spells, hitting Tworock with magic missiles, a ray of exhaustion and a ray of enfeeblement. As Lysander also moved toward where he thought Gunter was, drinking his last potion of heroism, Luggoth dodged between some of the trolls and caught the attention of the Cloud Giant skeleton.
Tworock began firing his bow at the Cloud Giant for minimal effect as it moved in and once again smashed Luggoth with its morningstar. The trolls disengaged, moving to block the exit, as Lysander cast a scroll of haste to empower everyone but Tworock, who was on the ceiling and out of range. Pel used his oil of keen edge on his rapier, struck at where he'd guessed Gunter was, and was pleased to hear the necromancer cry out in pain. Gunter struck back at the now visible Pel, though, leeching his energy with a vampiric touch, and as Pel crumpled to the floor, Lysander realized that the spell had probably healed Gunter's damage.
The Cloud Giant continued to swing at Luggoth, who dodged once thanks to his haste, but then suffered another solid blow, very nearly knocking him unconscious. Before fleeing the fight, he managed to hit Gunter as well. Lysander tried to use a vial of ink to spot Gunter, but he missed, and a splat of ink appeared on the wall. Meanwhile, Tworock used his dorje of skate and began moving quickly down the wall to where they thought the necromancer was.
Gunter responded with another ray of enfeeblement, this time draining much of Lysander's strength, but he suffered an attack of opportunity from Luggoth as a result. Tworock dropped his bow and drew his flail, psionically summoning animal affinity to make up for his lost strength.
As the Cloud Giant chased Luggoth around the room, Lysander healed Pel back up to consciousness, and Luggoth shifted back to his human form. The Cloud Giant moved in and attacked Tworock, who had now reached the ground, hitting the half-giant with a solid blow of his morningstar. Everyone then ran away to get clear of the Cloud Giant, knowing that any one of them would be killed by another hit from the massive undead creature.
Then Gunter's invisibility ended, and he stood revealed. Pel began trying desperately to activate his magic missiles, but the stress of the situation and the life-threatening damage he'd sustained made it nearly impossible for him. Luggoth began firing arrows, destroying mirror images, and Tworock used his psionic stomp to knock both Gunter and the Cloud Giant down for a brief time, giving the Wolves time to regroup and focus their attacks on the necromancer.
Gunter stood up and used a vampiric touch on Tworock, and Lysander activated his dragon mark to summon a shadow wall of flame around the Cloud Giant, as Luggoth moved in and struck Gunter again.
As the Cloud Giant swung and narrowly missed Lysander, and Gunter missed him with a ghoul's touch, Lysander struck back with his rapier and destroyed what remained of Gunter's stoneskin. Luggoth fired three more arrows, destroying the remaining mirror images and putting Gunter down with an arrow in his chest. The Cloud Giant turned on the creatures who had defeated its master, and things looked fairly dire for the wounded and exhausted Wolves.
Then Halas Martain emerged from the other chamber, carrying some sort of stone tablets, and he spoke words in the Giant tongue that froze the Cloud Giant in place. He apologized for his seeming cowardice, and told them that he had been searching for a way to stop the skeletons, and he found it amongst the sarcophagi in the back room. The Wolves weren't entirely buying this, but they did owe Halas their lives at this point, so they didn't push it.
After Pel stabilized Gunter with a cure minor wounds, he bound and gagged the still unconscious necromancer. Then they all turned to Halas and asked him what else he had found. He reluctantly produced a Khyber dragonshard from his bag, claiming that he had found two, but Pel knew he was lying, and pushed at him. Halas handed two more out and admitted that there were six. He argued that he should keep half, since he had discovered the Ruined Citadel, and no one was much in the mood to fight about it.
In the shadow of the inert Cloud Giant skeleton, the Wolves and Martain camped and rested for 8 hours, taking turns at guard. They made sure the troll skeletons, who had left the citadel during the fight, weren't coming back. They watched the Cloud Giant to make sure it didn't come back to active life. They made sure that whenever Gunter stirred, he was knocked back unconscious. And they made sure that Halas didn't make off with anything.
After resting, they emerged in the late afternoon to find four dead half-orc Tharask bounty hunters, clearly killed in a pitched battle with the troll skeletons. Before they had fled into the jungle, the skeletons had also destroyed the skiff. Fortunately, the Tharask bounty hunters had left behind four warhorses. Unfortunately, the Wolves were now stuck deep in the Xen'drik jungle, and they had to get back to Stormreach in less than two weeks to produce Gunter and prevent the Last War from breaking out all over again.
XP:
Luggoth 2400
Lysander 2400
Pel 3000
Tworock 3000
XP, Backup Characters, General Rules Notes
Since we'll have some time between now and the next Eberron session (I'm guessing December at the earliest, and with the holidays, probably January), it might be a good time to make sure everybody has at least one backup character built. Not that I'm *planning* on killing anyone, but... well, after that last fight, and a couple fatalities in the party, you all know Eberron is a dangerous place.
So... first off, my general ruling on XP for sessions: If your character is there, but you are not, that character will gain 1/2 XP for the session. This reflects a lighter usage of your character (mostly door opener and combat monster) when he's in someone else's hands, and also rewards folks for coming out to the game.
Backup characters will always be built one level behind the average level of the party, which as of the last adventure is now level 9. This does mean that resurrection, even though it costs a level, is just as viable an option as a backup character, *if* you can find someone to resurrect you. You will have the XP in the middle between the level you are and the level of the rest of the party.
So currently, if you build a backup character, that character is level 8, and has 32,000 XP. You can spend as much of that XP as you want on building magic or psionic items if you have Crafting feats, as long as you don't exceed the cash limits for those items.
Which are: You will start with the wealth indicated on the Character Wealth by Level table (DMG, p. 135). Currently, that is 27,000 gp. At least 20% of that wealth (5400 gp, in this case) must come into the campaign in liquid form, either as gold/platinum pieces, bags of gems or letters of credit from House Kundarak. Of the rest, you can spend no more than 9000 gp on any one item. This means that practically speaking, you're limited to +2 weapons and armor. In addition, any wondrous item that costs more than 2500 gp, or any item that comes from a source other than the main Eberron book or the DMG, is subject to GM approval. You'll probably get it, but I reserve the right to say no.
Also, on the store-related front: I'm making a change to the amount of money you get from selling magic items in the store. Since it's going to be harder to sell anything more unique or powerful, you're not going to get that cash as quickly. So what I'm going to do is, when you sell any item that is worth 5000 gp or less, you'll get 75% of its cost. When you sell an item that costs more than that but less than 10,000 gp, you'll get 60% of its cost. And when you sell an item that costs 10,000 gp or more, you'll get 55% of its cost.
This basically represents a longer time that your money is held in the Bank of Kundarak before you get a cash influx from somebody buying a magic item. If I wanted to get real complicated, I'd do something like put the items in a pool, roll randomly to see if someone bought them, give you the money for those then, but that would be a huge pain in the ass and it's easier to do it more abstractly like this. Seem fair to everyone?
Oh, and since we're most likely using FUDGE for Call of Cthulhu, I added a link to the FUDGE site and a PDF of the FUDGE rules (it's a free game) to the sidebar links.
So... first off, my general ruling on XP for sessions: If your character is there, but you are not, that character will gain 1/2 XP for the session. This reflects a lighter usage of your character (mostly door opener and combat monster) when he's in someone else's hands, and also rewards folks for coming out to the game.
Backup characters will always be built one level behind the average level of the party, which as of the last adventure is now level 9. This does mean that resurrection, even though it costs a level, is just as viable an option as a backup character, *if* you can find someone to resurrect you. You will have the XP in the middle between the level you are and the level of the rest of the party.
So currently, if you build a backup character, that character is level 8, and has 32,000 XP. You can spend as much of that XP as you want on building magic or psionic items if you have Crafting feats, as long as you don't exceed the cash limits for those items.
Which are: You will start with the wealth indicated on the Character Wealth by Level table (DMG, p. 135). Currently, that is 27,000 gp. At least 20% of that wealth (5400 gp, in this case) must come into the campaign in liquid form, either as gold/platinum pieces, bags of gems or letters of credit from House Kundarak. Of the rest, you can spend no more than 9000 gp on any one item. This means that practically speaking, you're limited to +2 weapons and armor. In addition, any wondrous item that costs more than 2500 gp, or any item that comes from a source other than the main Eberron book or the DMG, is subject to GM approval. You'll probably get it, but I reserve the right to say no.
Also, on the store-related front: I'm making a change to the amount of money you get from selling magic items in the store. Since it's going to be harder to sell anything more unique or powerful, you're not going to get that cash as quickly. So what I'm going to do is, when you sell any item that is worth 5000 gp or less, you'll get 75% of its cost. When you sell an item that costs more than that but less than 10,000 gp, you'll get 60% of its cost. And when you sell an item that costs 10,000 gp or more, you'll get 55% of its cost.
This basically represents a longer time that your money is held in the Bank of Kundarak before you get a cash influx from somebody buying a magic item. If I wanted to get real complicated, I'd do something like put the items in a pool, roll randomly to see if someone bought them, give you the money for those then, but that would be a huge pain in the ass and it's easier to do it more abstractly like this. Seem fair to everyone?
Oh, and since we're most likely using FUDGE for Call of Cthulhu, I added a link to the FUDGE site and a PDF of the FUDGE rules (it's a free game) to the sidebar links.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Eberron Adventure Journal: Voyage of the Golden Dragon (2)
Vult 1 - Vult 5, YK 998
Part Two - Cloak, Dagger and Spell:
The Golden Dragon was scheduled to leave for Xen'drik on Vult 3, so the Wandering Wolves had a few days to relax or work in Sharn before they left. Tworock and Luggoth both spent their time exploring the surrounding wilderness in Breland, sleeping out under the stars and connecting with the wilds. For Tworock, of course, the wilds of Breland still appeared remarkably civilized, but it was good to see a little more of the lands Traega had told him about.
Lysander and Pel both threw themselves back into information-gathering, in both high and low society.
Lysander took a break on Vult 1 to attend the Tain Gala with Arenydee, where the two spent a large amount of time amongst Sharn's social elite. Lysander made important contacts and heard several interesting rumors, including many people talking about a gang war brewing in the depths of Dura between the Boromars, the Tyrants and the Daask, and how such a war might affect those living in the high towers. There was also much talk about the hostage situation on the Golden Dragon, and Lysander received many compliments (and one indecent proposition) from grateful dignitaries.
Pel divided his time amongst his role as a half-elf member of the Wolves, his half-orc beggar in Lower Dura and Malfiore LeQuande. The half-orc bought up Dreamlily on a regular basis, which Pel began storing in Malfiore's apartment. In his role as Pel, he went and visited councilor Sava Kharisa to further talk to her about the corruption of the Watch. All of this was geared towards general information gathering as well as determining who had caused the Watch to raid the Six Stones event.
While neither of the two determined anything conclusive, all the rumors they had gathered pointed toward the Boromar Clan as the guilty party. They also discovered a few relevant details about the situation on the Golden Dragon. They discovered that Telgin Char was a notorious criminal who had up until recently been held in the Lhazaar prison Dreadhold, although they weren't able to determine with any certainty how he got out. They found out that the silver spheres had belonged to a sorcerer noble, also from the Lhazaar area, who had been slaughtered, along with his crew, a few months before.
Early in the morning on Vult 3, with a crisp, cold air holding sway over the city of Sharn, the Wandering Wolves boarded the Golden Dragon. The enormous airship now had both of its elemental rings lit, and any damage done during the scuffles of the past week had been repaired, so that the ship looked magnificent and new. Pel counted 18 House Medani sentries aboard the ship, notably on edge after the near-disaster of the Dragon's first outing.
The ship was considerably less crowded than it had been during its christening, but it was hardly empty. Up on the deck, the captain, first mate and bosun were making final preparations, along with deckhands, for the airship to set sail. Velgram, the half-orc bosun, made a point of cheerily greeting the Wolves, and the half-elven Lieutenant Mazzia also greeted them and thanked them for their bravery in defending the ship. Lysander noticed that Mazzia clearly had a crush on Velgram, but her position probably prevented her from acting on it.
Up on the observation deck, a thin man with a wispy goatee was feeding the birds who settled on the golden rails. Tworock went up and spoke with the man, who introduced himself as Gunter Hegerin, scribe to Karrnath Ambassador Sedge Avadarrn. Gunter told Tworock that Ambassador Avadarrn was onboard, along with a delegation from Thrane, to work out some details on the way to a conference in Xen'drik, as well as hopefully smoothing over some of the tension between the two nations. Gunter was a gentle and pleasant man, and he and Tworock made arrangements to meet, feed the birds and talk the next morning of the journey as well. Little did Tworock know that Gunter would not be making this meeting.
Down in the House of Chance, Pel and Lysander discovered that things were quite busy already. Sea Baron Paldrith Malinko, along with four of his crew, were enjoying games of Three Dragon Ante, while Nicolette, one of the elvish bards, cozied up to them. Lysander joined them for some generally pleasant, but un-enlightening conversation. Pel was engaged in conversation by Kalibar Jenks, the halfling owner of the bar, and they talked about a number of criminal enterprises, including the Boromar Clan, Tyrants and the Daask. Each was clearly holding something back and trying to learn more about the other, and Pel left with the strong impression that Jenks was deep in criminal activity. Also gambling in the House of Chance was legendary adventurer and Xen'drik explorer Halas Martain and Logar Veriscrost, a half-elven House Orien courier who seemed to have a great love for the game of dragonwheel.
Most everyone went to the top of the ship to watch the crowds bid farewell to the Golden Dragon, as it embarked on its first historic voyage. A cheer went up as the massive airship cast off from the Lyrandar docks and took to the skies, sailing away from the cold of a Brelish winter to the tropical warmth of Xen'drik. The first day of travel was cool but pleasant, with clear skies, and the ship would occasionally drop below the clouds so that the travelers could see dolphis frolicking in the Thunder Sea, or witness an exchange of goods between Brelish sailors and sahuagin caravans.
As the first day of travel began to come to a close, those on the upper deck could see storm clouds up ahead, and as Velgram went amongst the passengers announcing dinner, rain drops began to fall on the Golden Dragon's deck.
The Wolves were delighted to discover that the food aboard the Golden Dragon was as delicious in flight as it had been for the specially catered gala. Elaydren's words of praise for the cooking of Jaeden Kovane were clearly not mere flattery, and the guests dined on a meal of Karrnathi blood sausage and cheese, Brelish spiced pork and orange peppers and a Thrane beesh-berry sorbet, all served with a variety of ale and Aundarian wines.
As the Wolves entered the dining hall, they heard a clatter of crockery and witnessed a tense exchange between the Thrane ambassador, Cardinal Menasos Bethenade and Ambassador Avadarrn. Before the tension could erupt into something more between the Cardinal's paladin bodyguards and Avadarrn's skeletal protectors, Tworock walked over and introduced himself, the other Wolves close behind, and defused the tension. The Cardinal and his bodyguards stalked out of the room, bumping roughly into Gunter Hegerin on their way out and scattering his papers on the floor.
Ambassador Avadarrn invited the Wolves to sit with him as he signed a few papers for Gunter and sent him on his way. He introduced the head of his personal skeletal bodyguards as Skarad, and chatted comfortably with the Wolves about the politics between Thrane and Karrnath, which mostly revolved around the Karrnathi use of undead and the Thrane's disdain for the practice, but also included no small amount of bad blood from the Last War. Pel also tried to get some information about the soul blades, and learned that they had been created for the kings of Karrnath during the Last War, but some of them had gone missing from the nation after the war.
After dining for about an hour, with the rain and thunder becoming ever-louder outside, Captain Alastair approached the table and asked if the Wolves would accompany him. He took them back to the room where Ambassador Avadarrn and his entourage were staying, and showed them what he had found... Gunter Hegerin lay dead on the floor, his spilled cup of wine beside him, obviously dead.
Nervous about the House Medani sentries, fearing they might be overly eager to prove themselves in the wake of the attempted bombing of the ship, the captain asked if the Wolves could investigate discreetly. They agreed, just in time for the ambassador and his skeletons to return to the room and discover what had happened. Ambassador Avadarrn was angry and grief-stricken, but he agreed to keep things quiet as long as the Wolves promised a thorough investigation. "He was a good man, a gentle and kind man... find out who murdered him."
Pel suggested that perhaps it was the ambassador, not Gunter, who had been the target. While the ambassador didn't assign blame, it was hard for the Wolves to miss Skarad hissing "Thrane treachery" under his breath. Luggoth, using his enhanced senses and training, discovered that there was dark reaver powder in the wine glass, more than enough to kill a normal man.
In order to smoke out the murderer, Pel decided to adopt the identity of Gunter Hegerin. They hid his changeling nature from the ambassador, instead claiming a mastery of disguise. When the captain announced that he was closing off the upper decks until the storm abated, and serving warm spiced wine in the reception area, the Wolves decided this was the perfect time for "Gunter" to make an appearance.
While Lysander used his dragonmark to create an illusion of conversing with Pel, Luggoth and Tworock moved into the House of Chance to keep an eye on the many people there. "Gunter" came into the room, keeping an eye out for any reactions, but the only one he could see was a slight annoyance on the Cardinal's face, which could easily have been an honest reaction of distaste for the Karrnathi scribe. Realizing that there were many people in the House of Chance, he went there as well, but could see no unusual reactions from anyone there. He did spot that Sea Baron Malinko was gambling with silver spheres very similar to the ones that the Wolves had taken from Telgin Char.
While he was in the room, however, another problem broke out. The House Orien courier, Logar Vericrosst, was gambling when a goblin servant spilled a tray of ale on him. He began brushing the liquid from his waistcoat and then realized that the documents he had been carrying were missing! Angrily, he grabbed the goblin by the throat and accused him of stealing from him. Then he threw him across the room and into the bar.
Tworock, sitting near Sea Baron Malinko, manifested a force screen in preparation as the seamen reached for blades behind their backs. The sentries moved in to subdue the fight before it got started, one of them trying to hit Logar with the pommel of his sword, but then all the goblins piled onto Logar and the brawl was well and truly underway. Logar grabbed a steel mug from the table and smashed the Medani guard who had tried to subdue him in the face, breaking his nose. Luggoth picked up his own tankard and threw it, hitting Logar solidly in the head and dazing him for a moment. Just as he started to recover, Halas Martain, sitting at the table with Luggoth, threw his mug and clocked Logar as well.
Tworock rushed over and grabbed Logar, but the Medani sentry whose face was now pouring out blood wasn't willing to let things go and he punched the Orien half-elf across the face. The goblins, now in the midst of a melee, stumbled around the bar, one of them crashing into the table of Sea Baron Malinko and his men. Sea Baron Malinko knocked the goblin out and his men drew their blades. Luggoth, seeing that things were getting out of hand, shifted forms, leaped onto the bar and roared, cowing the goblins and sentries, at least momentarily. He did not bother Halas Martain, who merely yelled "While you're up there, my furry friend, can you get me another mug?"
Logar threw Logar up onto the stage and quickly followed after him, while the sentries began calling for reinforcements from the reception area. Pel, trying to get out of the line of fire, "stumbled" onto the stage and into Nicolette, bringing them both to the floor. Logar swung a fist at Tworock, but missed the surprisingly agile half-giant, and was rewarded with another mug in the face, thrown by Luggoth. Before Logar could do anything else, Halas Martain stood up, took careful aim and threw another mug, smashing Logar in the face and knocking him out cold.
Captain Alastair arrived a few moments later, and with the help of the sentries, restored order and began demanding to know what happened. Logar, who awakened quickly, apologized and explained that his diplomatic pouch had been stolen, and he assumed it had been the goblin. After Lysander searched the goblin at the captain's request and found no pouch, the Wolves agreed to discreetly investigate this matter as well, and the captain restrained Logar to his quarters for the duration of the journey.
Lysander, alerted to the silver spheres by Pel's use of the circle of communication, climbed onto the stage with the three elven women and asked to perform with them. Using dancing lights and other minor magic, he set the audience up to expect magical enhancements of his act, and then cast a detect magic spell. While neither Lysander nor Pel could spot the spheres from their vantage point, they did see them glow, and saw one of the seamen quickly shove them into a pouch to hide them.
Before the House of Chance was closed down, Kalibar Jenks spoke with Pel, who had left the bar as Gunter and returned in his own half-elf guise. Amongst other topics of conversation, Kalibar suggested that he had seen Jackrin, one of the Sea Baron's men, slip the Orien pouch into his jerkin during the melee.
Shortly thereafter, Luggoth retired to bed. The rest of the Wolves were relaxing in the mostly empty reception chamber when the two paladins of the Silver Flame, Sir Gedavin Brant and Dame Hollia Keln, came in to get food from the table to take back to their room. They brushed off polite attempts at conversation from Lysander, who then headed back toward his room to retire as well. On his way, he was nearly run over by five angry Karrnathi skeletons, on their way into the reception hall to accuse the paladins of murder.
As Lysander rushed to wake the Karrnathi ambassador, the skeletons rushed in and attacked the paladins, who defended themselves with their shields and then drew their own weapons. The House Medani sentries also entered the fray, destroying one of the skeletons before Pel could call upon the Traveler to send them all running. Before they could regroup, Ambassador Avadarrn and Captain Alastair both showed up and calmed things down. Frustrated, Alastair growled that he might be forced to send everyone to their quarters for the duration of the journey if things continued along this way. He confined both the skeletons and the paladins to their quarters for the rest of the journey. Tworock offered that he and Luggoth could serve as bodyguards for the ambassadors if they so desired. Naturally, he suggested that Luggoth guard the Karrnathi ambassador.
Though Luggoth went off to bed, the rest of the Wolves wouldn't be so lucky. Pel was approached by Darius Lightstep, the half-elf who ran the Serenity Above the Clouds massage room, and told not to confront Sea Baron Malinko about the accusations. After they went to Serenity Above the Clouds to talk privately, Pel tried to get Darius to open up, but he wouldn't offer up reasons. After a few moments, Pel realized that Darius was in disguise, a changeling like himself, and flashed a Tyrants sign to him.
Darius paled and started begging Pel not to kill him. It soon became clear that Darius was in fact Zan, the changeling who had defected from Vadis' service, and that he was hiding out from the Tyrants aboard the Golden Dragon, preparing to escape to Xen'drik. The reason he had warned Pel against confronting Malinko was that one of Malinko's men, Azango, was actually a doppleganger and a member of the Tyrants, and Zan had recognized him.
As for why he was on the run, Pel found out that Zan had found some sort of plans in Cord's office planning a coup against the Tyrant council. On that list were several names, most of which Pel didn't know, but the two he did recognize were his own and Xain. Zan wasn't sure who he could trust, was unsure why those names would be on a list of Cord's, unless they were double agents working against Vadis. Unsure who he could trust, Zan fled.
Pel filled Lysander in on this via the circle of sound, just in time for Lysander to notice Manten Dramgrin heading upstairs, against the captain's orders to stay belowdecks. He cast invisibility on himself and followed Manten, watching as he went to the unlocked artificer laboratory. Before Manten could close the door behind him, Lysander dove in.
He watched as Manten assumed his true form, that of the doppleganger Azango, and then set about releasing gas into the air from one of the barrels and setting tindertwigs by the door. Realizing he didn't have much time, Lysander downed a potion of heroism and moved in to attack Azango. The doppleganger heard Lysander trip over some tools on the floor and avoided the attack, and a battle was joined.
The two exchanged sword blows for a few seconds, but Lysander found an opening and stabbed Azango through the chest, critically wounding him. Azango fled out into the storm, running around the bridge just as Pel came running up the stairs on the other side. The storm was bad for visibility, but Lysander spotted a form near the bridge and threw a dagger, striking it and hearing a female voice cry out in pain and surprise.
As Pel and Lysander converged, they saw that the being Lysander had struck was Lieutenant Mazzia, who was furious and confused. When asked, she said that she had seen someone dash down the stairway, and Lysander and Pel both charged that way. Fortunately, Pel realized it was a trick as he reached the stairway and turned around, engaging "Mazzia" who was revealed as Azango. Pel stabbed Azango with his sword, putting him down and then cast a cure minor wounds to stabilize him, unconscious but alive.
After that, the real Mazzia, along with Velgram, came out of the bridge to find out what was going on, and they accompanied Azango, Pel and Lysander back to the lab to get out of the storm. Manten Dramgrin also stopped in, and informed them that the gas and tindertwigs would definitely have done some major damage, possibly even crippling the ship.
Though the interrogation didn't get far at first, Lysander used a charm spell to sway Azango, at which point the newly friendly doppleganger revealed everything. He told them that Sea Baron Malinko had been working on a luxury airship of his own, the Cloud Dancer, and that he had been behind this sabotage attempt as well as the one organized by Telgin Char and the hobgoblin Brimstone Brakker. After setting the trap, he was supposed to rejoin Malinko down in their stateroom, and they were all going to get off the ship in the skiffs. After Lysander convinced his new friend to go to sleep, Pel assumed Azango's form and prepared to lead Malinko and his men into a trap.
Unfortunately, on his way, he ran into a battle outside Ambassador Avadarrn's door. The paladins, apparently on orders from Ambassador Bethenade, had come to attack the skeletons, and a battle was joined in the hallway. As Pel called for help using the circle of sound, the paladins attacked and killed several of the skeletons.
Pel tried to subdue Gedavin, the male paladin, using hold person and fear, but was unable to get through the paladin's defenses, and he instead kept attacking the last remaining skeleton, Skarad. Hollia, the female paladin, covered him from the back.
Tworock and Luggoth, responding to Lysander's calls for help, ran out to try and restrain the paladins. As Lysander tried to sing and persuade both sides to avoid the atrocities of the Last War, Skarad and Gedavin continued attacking each other, and Hollia swung at Luggoth, viewing him as an abomination and an interloper in this fight.
Given Luggoth's animosity toward the Silver Flame, this was all the excuse he needed, and he went into a rage and attacked the paladin. Pel enhanced Tworock's strength with bull's strength to aid him in grabbing Gedavin as Luggoth and Hollia continued to battle. Luggoth swung a vicious blow that nearly killed the female paladin, but Lysander tumbled past the angry Skarad and healed her, keeping her unconscious but alive.
With one paladin down and the other restrained, Pel was able to calm Skarad by threatening him with a cure spell that would surely destroy him. Luggoth went up to get the captain and Medani sentries, and they confined the paladins to their quarters and Skarad into a different set of quarters.
In order to keep out of the way of the trap, as well as making sure everyone stayed in their rooms, Captain Alastair ordered all of the Medani sentries to guard those two rooms, plus the ambassadors.
Tworock, Lysander and Luggoth moved down to the cargo hold to wait in ambush, but when they got there they found that Gunter Hegerin's body was missing. There was little time to puzzle it out, however, as Pel led Baron Malinko, Jackrin, Skrakes and Meldin into a trap.
Jackrin spotted some of the Wolves waiting in hiding, but not quickly enough to escape, and Luggoth charged into action, raging and slashing the pirate with a wicked gash that nearly split his chest open. Sea Baron Malinko tumbled down the stairs and behind Luggoth, but he was unable to hit the nimble and well-armored shifter. Lysander drew his bow and put an arrow into Skrakes, but the pirates still knew the threat was Luggoth, and they all swung at him, doing some damage that the raging Luggoth mostly ignored.
Tworock rushed in, taking a minor scratch from an opportunistic attack by Meldrin, but he paid Sea Baron Malinko back for it with a gash across the chest. As Luggoth killed both Skrakes and Jackrin, the Sea Baron tried to run for one of the skiffs, but he didn't get far before Tworock moved in and cut him down. Before Meldrin could surrender, Luggoth killed him as well, and once again, Pel put his healing magics to use keeping a prisoner alive, stabilizing and awakening Sea Baron Malinko.
Malinko owned up to everything, explaining that his motivation was not merely jealousy at wanting his own Cloud Dancer to be the best in the sky but also anger because his family had held aberrant dragonmarked, and he still held a great deal of anger against the Dragonmarked Houses that ran Golden Dragon and ships like them. He tried to make deals with the Wolves, but found them willing only to throw him in prison.
He vehemently denied having anything to do with the theft of the pouch, even though it was found in Jackrin's vest, and he also denied causing the strife between the ambassadors. Pel, a good judge of when someone was lying, believed him. Pel deciphered the magical code in the documents inside the pouch and found that they were orders for House Orien to essentially "pull up stakes" on all development in Xen'drik.
It had been a long night, but it wasn't quite over yet. The Wolves went up and found out that one of the House Medani sentries had discovered Cardinal Bethenade dead in his room, poisoned by his own hand using dark reaver powder and leaving behind a confession that he had attempted to poison Ambassador Avadarrn. Pel and Lysander both checked for forgeries and confirmed that the confession was in Bethenade's handwriting, but they weren't entirely sure they believed it. What they were sure of was that acts of war between Thrane and Karrnath had taken place aboard the Golden Dragon, and once the news got out, as it surely would, those acts might spark a new conflict in Khorvaire.
After interrogating Zan for any more information, he confessed to Pel that he had overheard Kalibar telling him about the pouch, but that he had seen Kalibar slip the pouch into Jackrin's jerkin during the brawl. The Wolves went to confront the slippery halfling in the now-closed House of Chance. Tarla, Nicolette and Desrida were still there, but they refused Lysander's request to leave.
Jenks offered up a story about stealing the House Orien pouch and replacing it with the forgeries. He claimed that he had been hired to do so by the Boromar Clan, and that he had been making the switch when the goblin alerted Logar to the switch. Jenks had to try a misdirect, and so he slipped the forgery into Jackrin's vest during the brawl. Pel quickly realized that Jenks was mostly telling the truth, but he wasn't working for the Boromar Clan. It was the one part of his story that didn't ring true.
When confronted, Jenks reluctantly admitted that he was an agent of the King's Dark Lanterns, and called upon the loyalty of the Wolves to Breland to keep the secret. He knew that they had worked for the Dark Lanterns in pursuing Lucan, and hoped that they held a loyalty to the Brelish crown. Fortunately for him, they did, and they agreed to keep the secret.
After a long night and a series of exhausting events, the Wolves finally returned to their staterooms for some well-deserved rest.
XP:
Lysander 3000
Luggoth 1500
Pel 3500
Tworock 3500
Part Two - Cloak, Dagger and Spell:
The Golden Dragon was scheduled to leave for Xen'drik on Vult 3, so the Wandering Wolves had a few days to relax or work in Sharn before they left. Tworock and Luggoth both spent their time exploring the surrounding wilderness in Breland, sleeping out under the stars and connecting with the wilds. For Tworock, of course, the wilds of Breland still appeared remarkably civilized, but it was good to see a little more of the lands Traega had told him about.
Lysander and Pel both threw themselves back into information-gathering, in both high and low society.
Lysander took a break on Vult 1 to attend the Tain Gala with Arenydee, where the two spent a large amount of time amongst Sharn's social elite. Lysander made important contacts and heard several interesting rumors, including many people talking about a gang war brewing in the depths of Dura between the Boromars, the Tyrants and the Daask, and how such a war might affect those living in the high towers. There was also much talk about the hostage situation on the Golden Dragon, and Lysander received many compliments (and one indecent proposition) from grateful dignitaries.
Pel divided his time amongst his role as a half-elf member of the Wolves, his half-orc beggar in Lower Dura and Malfiore LeQuande. The half-orc bought up Dreamlily on a regular basis, which Pel began storing in Malfiore's apartment. In his role as Pel, he went and visited councilor Sava Kharisa to further talk to her about the corruption of the Watch. All of this was geared towards general information gathering as well as determining who had caused the Watch to raid the Six Stones event.
While neither of the two determined anything conclusive, all the rumors they had gathered pointed toward the Boromar Clan as the guilty party. They also discovered a few relevant details about the situation on the Golden Dragon. They discovered that Telgin Char was a notorious criminal who had up until recently been held in the Lhazaar prison Dreadhold, although they weren't able to determine with any certainty how he got out. They found out that the silver spheres had belonged to a sorcerer noble, also from the Lhazaar area, who had been slaughtered, along with his crew, a few months before.
Early in the morning on Vult 3, with a crisp, cold air holding sway over the city of Sharn, the Wandering Wolves boarded the Golden Dragon. The enormous airship now had both of its elemental rings lit, and any damage done during the scuffles of the past week had been repaired, so that the ship looked magnificent and new. Pel counted 18 House Medani sentries aboard the ship, notably on edge after the near-disaster of the Dragon's first outing.
The ship was considerably less crowded than it had been during its christening, but it was hardly empty. Up on the deck, the captain, first mate and bosun were making final preparations, along with deckhands, for the airship to set sail. Velgram, the half-orc bosun, made a point of cheerily greeting the Wolves, and the half-elven Lieutenant Mazzia also greeted them and thanked them for their bravery in defending the ship. Lysander noticed that Mazzia clearly had a crush on Velgram, but her position probably prevented her from acting on it.
Up on the observation deck, a thin man with a wispy goatee was feeding the birds who settled on the golden rails. Tworock went up and spoke with the man, who introduced himself as Gunter Hegerin, scribe to Karrnath Ambassador Sedge Avadarrn. Gunter told Tworock that Ambassador Avadarrn was onboard, along with a delegation from Thrane, to work out some details on the way to a conference in Xen'drik, as well as hopefully smoothing over some of the tension between the two nations. Gunter was a gentle and pleasant man, and he and Tworock made arrangements to meet, feed the birds and talk the next morning of the journey as well. Little did Tworock know that Gunter would not be making this meeting.
Down in the House of Chance, Pel and Lysander discovered that things were quite busy already. Sea Baron Paldrith Malinko, along with four of his crew, were enjoying games of Three Dragon Ante, while Nicolette, one of the elvish bards, cozied up to them. Lysander joined them for some generally pleasant, but un-enlightening conversation. Pel was engaged in conversation by Kalibar Jenks, the halfling owner of the bar, and they talked about a number of criminal enterprises, including the Boromar Clan, Tyrants and the Daask. Each was clearly holding something back and trying to learn more about the other, and Pel left with the strong impression that Jenks was deep in criminal activity. Also gambling in the House of Chance was legendary adventurer and Xen'drik explorer Halas Martain and Logar Veriscrost, a half-elven House Orien courier who seemed to have a great love for the game of dragonwheel.
Most everyone went to the top of the ship to watch the crowds bid farewell to the Golden Dragon, as it embarked on its first historic voyage. A cheer went up as the massive airship cast off from the Lyrandar docks and took to the skies, sailing away from the cold of a Brelish winter to the tropical warmth of Xen'drik. The first day of travel was cool but pleasant, with clear skies, and the ship would occasionally drop below the clouds so that the travelers could see dolphis frolicking in the Thunder Sea, or witness an exchange of goods between Brelish sailors and sahuagin caravans.
As the first day of travel began to come to a close, those on the upper deck could see storm clouds up ahead, and as Velgram went amongst the passengers announcing dinner, rain drops began to fall on the Golden Dragon's deck.
The Wolves were delighted to discover that the food aboard the Golden Dragon was as delicious in flight as it had been for the specially catered gala. Elaydren's words of praise for the cooking of Jaeden Kovane were clearly not mere flattery, and the guests dined on a meal of Karrnathi blood sausage and cheese, Brelish spiced pork and orange peppers and a Thrane beesh-berry sorbet, all served with a variety of ale and Aundarian wines.
As the Wolves entered the dining hall, they heard a clatter of crockery and witnessed a tense exchange between the Thrane ambassador, Cardinal Menasos Bethenade and Ambassador Avadarrn. Before the tension could erupt into something more between the Cardinal's paladin bodyguards and Avadarrn's skeletal protectors, Tworock walked over and introduced himself, the other Wolves close behind, and defused the tension. The Cardinal and his bodyguards stalked out of the room, bumping roughly into Gunter Hegerin on their way out and scattering his papers on the floor.
Ambassador Avadarrn invited the Wolves to sit with him as he signed a few papers for Gunter and sent him on his way. He introduced the head of his personal skeletal bodyguards as Skarad, and chatted comfortably with the Wolves about the politics between Thrane and Karrnath, which mostly revolved around the Karrnathi use of undead and the Thrane's disdain for the practice, but also included no small amount of bad blood from the Last War. Pel also tried to get some information about the soul blades, and learned that they had been created for the kings of Karrnath during the Last War, but some of them had gone missing from the nation after the war.
After dining for about an hour, with the rain and thunder becoming ever-louder outside, Captain Alastair approached the table and asked if the Wolves would accompany him. He took them back to the room where Ambassador Avadarrn and his entourage were staying, and showed them what he had found... Gunter Hegerin lay dead on the floor, his spilled cup of wine beside him, obviously dead.
Nervous about the House Medani sentries, fearing they might be overly eager to prove themselves in the wake of the attempted bombing of the ship, the captain asked if the Wolves could investigate discreetly. They agreed, just in time for the ambassador and his skeletons to return to the room and discover what had happened. Ambassador Avadarrn was angry and grief-stricken, but he agreed to keep things quiet as long as the Wolves promised a thorough investigation. "He was a good man, a gentle and kind man... find out who murdered him."
Pel suggested that perhaps it was the ambassador, not Gunter, who had been the target. While the ambassador didn't assign blame, it was hard for the Wolves to miss Skarad hissing "Thrane treachery" under his breath. Luggoth, using his enhanced senses and training, discovered that there was dark reaver powder in the wine glass, more than enough to kill a normal man.
In order to smoke out the murderer, Pel decided to adopt the identity of Gunter Hegerin. They hid his changeling nature from the ambassador, instead claiming a mastery of disguise. When the captain announced that he was closing off the upper decks until the storm abated, and serving warm spiced wine in the reception area, the Wolves decided this was the perfect time for "Gunter" to make an appearance.
While Lysander used his dragonmark to create an illusion of conversing with Pel, Luggoth and Tworock moved into the House of Chance to keep an eye on the many people there. "Gunter" came into the room, keeping an eye out for any reactions, but the only one he could see was a slight annoyance on the Cardinal's face, which could easily have been an honest reaction of distaste for the Karrnathi scribe. Realizing that there were many people in the House of Chance, he went there as well, but could see no unusual reactions from anyone there. He did spot that Sea Baron Malinko was gambling with silver spheres very similar to the ones that the Wolves had taken from Telgin Char.
While he was in the room, however, another problem broke out. The House Orien courier, Logar Vericrosst, was gambling when a goblin servant spilled a tray of ale on him. He began brushing the liquid from his waistcoat and then realized that the documents he had been carrying were missing! Angrily, he grabbed the goblin by the throat and accused him of stealing from him. Then he threw him across the room and into the bar.
Tworock, sitting near Sea Baron Malinko, manifested a force screen in preparation as the seamen reached for blades behind their backs. The sentries moved in to subdue the fight before it got started, one of them trying to hit Logar with the pommel of his sword, but then all the goblins piled onto Logar and the brawl was well and truly underway. Logar grabbed a steel mug from the table and smashed the Medani guard who had tried to subdue him in the face, breaking his nose. Luggoth picked up his own tankard and threw it, hitting Logar solidly in the head and dazing him for a moment. Just as he started to recover, Halas Martain, sitting at the table with Luggoth, threw his mug and clocked Logar as well.
Tworock rushed over and grabbed Logar, but the Medani sentry whose face was now pouring out blood wasn't willing to let things go and he punched the Orien half-elf across the face. The goblins, now in the midst of a melee, stumbled around the bar, one of them crashing into the table of Sea Baron Malinko and his men. Sea Baron Malinko knocked the goblin out and his men drew their blades. Luggoth, seeing that things were getting out of hand, shifted forms, leaped onto the bar and roared, cowing the goblins and sentries, at least momentarily. He did not bother Halas Martain, who merely yelled "While you're up there, my furry friend, can you get me another mug?"
Logar threw Logar up onto the stage and quickly followed after him, while the sentries began calling for reinforcements from the reception area. Pel, trying to get out of the line of fire, "stumbled" onto the stage and into Nicolette, bringing them both to the floor. Logar swung a fist at Tworock, but missed the surprisingly agile half-giant, and was rewarded with another mug in the face, thrown by Luggoth. Before Logar could do anything else, Halas Martain stood up, took careful aim and threw another mug, smashing Logar in the face and knocking him out cold.
Captain Alastair arrived a few moments later, and with the help of the sentries, restored order and began demanding to know what happened. Logar, who awakened quickly, apologized and explained that his diplomatic pouch had been stolen, and he assumed it had been the goblin. After Lysander searched the goblin at the captain's request and found no pouch, the Wolves agreed to discreetly investigate this matter as well, and the captain restrained Logar to his quarters for the duration of the journey.
Lysander, alerted to the silver spheres by Pel's use of the circle of communication, climbed onto the stage with the three elven women and asked to perform with them. Using dancing lights and other minor magic, he set the audience up to expect magical enhancements of his act, and then cast a detect magic spell. While neither Lysander nor Pel could spot the spheres from their vantage point, they did see them glow, and saw one of the seamen quickly shove them into a pouch to hide them.
Before the House of Chance was closed down, Kalibar Jenks spoke with Pel, who had left the bar as Gunter and returned in his own half-elf guise. Amongst other topics of conversation, Kalibar suggested that he had seen Jackrin, one of the Sea Baron's men, slip the Orien pouch into his jerkin during the melee.
Shortly thereafter, Luggoth retired to bed. The rest of the Wolves were relaxing in the mostly empty reception chamber when the two paladins of the Silver Flame, Sir Gedavin Brant and Dame Hollia Keln, came in to get food from the table to take back to their room. They brushed off polite attempts at conversation from Lysander, who then headed back toward his room to retire as well. On his way, he was nearly run over by five angry Karrnathi skeletons, on their way into the reception hall to accuse the paladins of murder.
As Lysander rushed to wake the Karrnathi ambassador, the skeletons rushed in and attacked the paladins, who defended themselves with their shields and then drew their own weapons. The House Medani sentries also entered the fray, destroying one of the skeletons before Pel could call upon the Traveler to send them all running. Before they could regroup, Ambassador Avadarrn and Captain Alastair both showed up and calmed things down. Frustrated, Alastair growled that he might be forced to send everyone to their quarters for the duration of the journey if things continued along this way. He confined both the skeletons and the paladins to their quarters for the rest of the journey. Tworock offered that he and Luggoth could serve as bodyguards for the ambassadors if they so desired. Naturally, he suggested that Luggoth guard the Karrnathi ambassador.
Though Luggoth went off to bed, the rest of the Wolves wouldn't be so lucky. Pel was approached by Darius Lightstep, the half-elf who ran the Serenity Above the Clouds massage room, and told not to confront Sea Baron Malinko about the accusations. After they went to Serenity Above the Clouds to talk privately, Pel tried to get Darius to open up, but he wouldn't offer up reasons. After a few moments, Pel realized that Darius was in disguise, a changeling like himself, and flashed a Tyrants sign to him.
Darius paled and started begging Pel not to kill him. It soon became clear that Darius was in fact Zan, the changeling who had defected from Vadis' service, and that he was hiding out from the Tyrants aboard the Golden Dragon, preparing to escape to Xen'drik. The reason he had warned Pel against confronting Malinko was that one of Malinko's men, Azango, was actually a doppleganger and a member of the Tyrants, and Zan had recognized him.
As for why he was on the run, Pel found out that Zan had found some sort of plans in Cord's office planning a coup against the Tyrant council. On that list were several names, most of which Pel didn't know, but the two he did recognize were his own and Xain. Zan wasn't sure who he could trust, was unsure why those names would be on a list of Cord's, unless they were double agents working against Vadis. Unsure who he could trust, Zan fled.
Pel filled Lysander in on this via the circle of sound, just in time for Lysander to notice Manten Dramgrin heading upstairs, against the captain's orders to stay belowdecks. He cast invisibility on himself and followed Manten, watching as he went to the unlocked artificer laboratory. Before Manten could close the door behind him, Lysander dove in.
He watched as Manten assumed his true form, that of the doppleganger Azango, and then set about releasing gas into the air from one of the barrels and setting tindertwigs by the door. Realizing he didn't have much time, Lysander downed a potion of heroism and moved in to attack Azango. The doppleganger heard Lysander trip over some tools on the floor and avoided the attack, and a battle was joined.
The two exchanged sword blows for a few seconds, but Lysander found an opening and stabbed Azango through the chest, critically wounding him. Azango fled out into the storm, running around the bridge just as Pel came running up the stairs on the other side. The storm was bad for visibility, but Lysander spotted a form near the bridge and threw a dagger, striking it and hearing a female voice cry out in pain and surprise.
As Pel and Lysander converged, they saw that the being Lysander had struck was Lieutenant Mazzia, who was furious and confused. When asked, she said that she had seen someone dash down the stairway, and Lysander and Pel both charged that way. Fortunately, Pel realized it was a trick as he reached the stairway and turned around, engaging "Mazzia" who was revealed as Azango. Pel stabbed Azango with his sword, putting him down and then cast a cure minor wounds to stabilize him, unconscious but alive.
After that, the real Mazzia, along with Velgram, came out of the bridge to find out what was going on, and they accompanied Azango, Pel and Lysander back to the lab to get out of the storm. Manten Dramgrin also stopped in, and informed them that the gas and tindertwigs would definitely have done some major damage, possibly even crippling the ship.
Though the interrogation didn't get far at first, Lysander used a charm spell to sway Azango, at which point the newly friendly doppleganger revealed everything. He told them that Sea Baron Malinko had been working on a luxury airship of his own, the Cloud Dancer, and that he had been behind this sabotage attempt as well as the one organized by Telgin Char and the hobgoblin Brimstone Brakker. After setting the trap, he was supposed to rejoin Malinko down in their stateroom, and they were all going to get off the ship in the skiffs. After Lysander convinced his new friend to go to sleep, Pel assumed Azango's form and prepared to lead Malinko and his men into a trap.
Unfortunately, on his way, he ran into a battle outside Ambassador Avadarrn's door. The paladins, apparently on orders from Ambassador Bethenade, had come to attack the skeletons, and a battle was joined in the hallway. As Pel called for help using the circle of sound, the paladins attacked and killed several of the skeletons.
Pel tried to subdue Gedavin, the male paladin, using hold person and fear, but was unable to get through the paladin's defenses, and he instead kept attacking the last remaining skeleton, Skarad. Hollia, the female paladin, covered him from the back.
Tworock and Luggoth, responding to Lysander's calls for help, ran out to try and restrain the paladins. As Lysander tried to sing and persuade both sides to avoid the atrocities of the Last War, Skarad and Gedavin continued attacking each other, and Hollia swung at Luggoth, viewing him as an abomination and an interloper in this fight.
Given Luggoth's animosity toward the Silver Flame, this was all the excuse he needed, and he went into a rage and attacked the paladin. Pel enhanced Tworock's strength with bull's strength to aid him in grabbing Gedavin as Luggoth and Hollia continued to battle. Luggoth swung a vicious blow that nearly killed the female paladin, but Lysander tumbled past the angry Skarad and healed her, keeping her unconscious but alive.
With one paladin down and the other restrained, Pel was able to calm Skarad by threatening him with a cure spell that would surely destroy him. Luggoth went up to get the captain and Medani sentries, and they confined the paladins to their quarters and Skarad into a different set of quarters.
In order to keep out of the way of the trap, as well as making sure everyone stayed in their rooms, Captain Alastair ordered all of the Medani sentries to guard those two rooms, plus the ambassadors.
Tworock, Lysander and Luggoth moved down to the cargo hold to wait in ambush, but when they got there they found that Gunter Hegerin's body was missing. There was little time to puzzle it out, however, as Pel led Baron Malinko, Jackrin, Skrakes and Meldin into a trap.
Jackrin spotted some of the Wolves waiting in hiding, but not quickly enough to escape, and Luggoth charged into action, raging and slashing the pirate with a wicked gash that nearly split his chest open. Sea Baron Malinko tumbled down the stairs and behind Luggoth, but he was unable to hit the nimble and well-armored shifter. Lysander drew his bow and put an arrow into Skrakes, but the pirates still knew the threat was Luggoth, and they all swung at him, doing some damage that the raging Luggoth mostly ignored.
Tworock rushed in, taking a minor scratch from an opportunistic attack by Meldrin, but he paid Sea Baron Malinko back for it with a gash across the chest. As Luggoth killed both Skrakes and Jackrin, the Sea Baron tried to run for one of the skiffs, but he didn't get far before Tworock moved in and cut him down. Before Meldrin could surrender, Luggoth killed him as well, and once again, Pel put his healing magics to use keeping a prisoner alive, stabilizing and awakening Sea Baron Malinko.
Malinko owned up to everything, explaining that his motivation was not merely jealousy at wanting his own Cloud Dancer to be the best in the sky but also anger because his family had held aberrant dragonmarked, and he still held a great deal of anger against the Dragonmarked Houses that ran Golden Dragon and ships like them. He tried to make deals with the Wolves, but found them willing only to throw him in prison.
He vehemently denied having anything to do with the theft of the pouch, even though it was found in Jackrin's vest, and he also denied causing the strife between the ambassadors. Pel, a good judge of when someone was lying, believed him. Pel deciphered the magical code in the documents inside the pouch and found that they were orders for House Orien to essentially "pull up stakes" on all development in Xen'drik.
It had been a long night, but it wasn't quite over yet. The Wolves went up and found out that one of the House Medani sentries had discovered Cardinal Bethenade dead in his room, poisoned by his own hand using dark reaver powder and leaving behind a confession that he had attempted to poison Ambassador Avadarrn. Pel and Lysander both checked for forgeries and confirmed that the confession was in Bethenade's handwriting, but they weren't entirely sure they believed it. What they were sure of was that acts of war between Thrane and Karrnath had taken place aboard the Golden Dragon, and once the news got out, as it surely would, those acts might spark a new conflict in Khorvaire.
After interrogating Zan for any more information, he confessed to Pel that he had overheard Kalibar telling him about the pouch, but that he had seen Kalibar slip the pouch into Jackrin's jerkin during the brawl. The Wolves went to confront the slippery halfling in the now-closed House of Chance. Tarla, Nicolette and Desrida were still there, but they refused Lysander's request to leave.
Jenks offered up a story about stealing the House Orien pouch and replacing it with the forgeries. He claimed that he had been hired to do so by the Boromar Clan, and that he had been making the switch when the goblin alerted Logar to the switch. Jenks had to try a misdirect, and so he slipped the forgery into Jackrin's vest during the brawl. Pel quickly realized that Jenks was mostly telling the truth, but he wasn't working for the Boromar Clan. It was the one part of his story that didn't ring true.
When confronted, Jenks reluctantly admitted that he was an agent of the King's Dark Lanterns, and called upon the loyalty of the Wolves to Breland to keep the secret. He knew that they had worked for the Dark Lanterns in pursuing Lucan, and hoped that they held a loyalty to the Brelish crown. Fortunately for him, they did, and they agreed to keep the secret.
After a long night and a series of exhausting events, the Wolves finally returned to their staterooms for some well-deserved rest.
XP:
Lysander 3000
Luggoth 1500
Pel 3500
Tworock 3500
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Upcoming Schedule - October/November
Everyone is coming this Friday, right? Nate, if you're going to be out, let me know as soon as possible, and I'll see if Dave can fill in on Luggoth. Hopefully you can make it, though, as it'll be the last Eberron session for a while!
Charles, do you want to play the Call of Cthulhu game in November? I wasn't sure what your availability was, and whether or not you were up for gaming every week or whether you still had your other group.
As for how long Cthulhu will go, I don't really know... last time it took us longer than expected. My guess is that we'll get back to Eberron in January.
October 13th - Eberron: Voyage of the Golden Dragon Part 3
October 20th - Poker Game
October 27th - D&D miniatures, movies, casual hang-out day for anyone who wants to come
November 3rd - Gaming off, but Borat movie opens (anyone who wants to come along is welcome)
November 10th - Gaming off (Wizard World Texas)
November 17th - Poker Game
November 24th - Call of Cthulhu game starts
Charles, do you want to play the Call of Cthulhu game in November? I wasn't sure what your availability was, and whether or not you were up for gaming every week or whether you still had your other group.
As for how long Cthulhu will go, I don't really know... last time it took us longer than expected. My guess is that we'll get back to Eberron in January.
October 13th - Eberron: Voyage of the Golden Dragon Part 3
October 20th - Poker Game
October 27th - D&D miniatures, movies, casual hang-out day for anyone who wants to come
November 3rd - Gaming off, but Borat movie opens (anyone who wants to come along is welcome)
November 10th - Gaming off (Wizard World Texas)
November 17th - Poker Game
November 24th - Call of Cthulhu game starts
Monday, October 02, 2006
Out this Friday
Sorry guys. Shawna and I are making an honest attempt at sobriety. I'm going to stay home this Friday so we can help each other along the straight and narrow. I'll probably be back next weekend.
Wish us luck!
Wish us luck!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The Weight of Money
I noticed that y'all have been carrying around a pretty good amount of liquid gold. I haven't been playing too hard with the encumbrance rules, but... 50 pieces of coin adds up to a pound, and so I think most of you would be better off putting any loose gold you've got into your letters of credit. If you carry 50 pp, it weighs about a pound and is the equivalent of 500 gold, so you might consider doing that kind of coin conversion instead.
Alternatively, you can put your individual sacks of gold into the bag of holding, but that's going to take up a fair amount of your carrying space, and make it harder to carry all the new gold you'll be finding. :P
I've updated Luggoth on the site... everybody else has their own character sheet, do me a favor and update your characters on the blog if you get a chance, and especially do any money conversion so you aren't carrying around 50 lb. sacks of gold.
Alternatively, you can put your individual sacks of gold into the bag of holding, but that's going to take up a fair amount of your carrying space, and make it harder to carry all the new gold you'll be finding. :P
I've updated Luggoth on the site... everybody else has their own character sheet, do me a favor and update your characters on the blog if you get a chance, and especially do any money conversion so you aren't carrying around 50 lb. sacks of gold.
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