Introduction
A lot happened in the previous two sessions for the Thursday group, so there is a lot of downtime activity this week.
Due to some family things, and a player being sick, we had two players running three PCs.
Braun the fighter and Charlos the mage are training, 27 May to 2 June.
Torrent
Bulwark
Boris
Pre-session Downtime
Scribbles the Mage does some research on the big wax candles recovered from the shrine.
You can find out information about the candle by studying in the Academy library. Study at least two days then roll your percent chance to know spell.
For each additional day of study and research you may add ten percent to the chance of success up to a maximum of ninety percent.
Only roll one time, at the end of the period of research you feel to be sufficient.
I will take 4 days
94... Not a chance.
The Dungeon Master
That just means there is absolutely nothing in the library about this kind of candle
Funeral Downtime
has a convo with the Keepers about the map and the cave
The Dungeon Master
The Senior does not really know what to make of the map, other than it obviously shows a cave of some sort. But he does know that Brother Rigoberd is a former sailing man, and summons him to help with the log book. Brother Rigoberd is able to explain the lodestone headings and how they give directions - you can follow the course of the ship.
He fetches a sea-chart and the course follows the shore from the west toward the mouth of Paradise Bay. He shows them going ashore at The Moaning Caverns, 15 miles along the coast on the edge of the Great Salt Marsh (he points at a spot almost due south of the end of the Serpentine). He says there is a famous pillar of stone there, riddled with caves that are home to many sea birds. When the wind blows, it goes through these caverns and tunnels, making a haunting, moaning sound.
He believes the Dagonites of the area would likely know more about it, as they are fond of sea-bird eggs.
Were you (Funeral) thinking of having a conversation with the Keepers about reestablishing the seaside temple?
I think I remember you saying something about that but I don't see anything in the discord.
Funeral
I don't think so yet. I should like to see what this cave is about.
Barber
On the down time front, I would very much like Barber to start looking into more about what we can learn about the missing Noble woman from the gossip section.
You will start with what he knows, the network of salons and barbers clinics in the area. Someone Pampers this lady and will know more. He will also ask questions of the servants if he can catch their eye, maybe get them to open up by offering them an actual honest to goodness haircut and or bloodletting.
Beggars in the neighborhood, too.
And he will ask questions about these prophets in the crystal necropolis. He'll put Funeral up to asking the scholars at the Temple if they know anything about it. It sounds like a keeper thing
Scribbles, meanwhile, we'll spend the remaining 3 days he has of downtime using Read magic to interpret the grimoire we recovered, and hopefully copying a couple of new spells.
If you let me know what's in there, I will make the appropriate rolls to learn at the beginning of the session.
The Dungeon Master
Roll a d20 CHA Swaggering TR
Funeral
You will start with what he knows, the network of salons and barbers clinics in the area. Someone Pampers this lady and will know more. He will also ask questions of the servants if he can catch their eye, maybe get them to open up by offering them an actual honest to goodness haircut and or bloodletting.
The Dungeon Master
Give a +2 bonus to CHA for these tactics
The Keepers reiterate what sounds like an "official position", that the Crystal Necropolis is haunted and possibly beyond the powers of even their Order.
If the Prophets want to go there, then good riddance, they are troublemakers.
The only possible drawback is that Sir Hedwig's wife is thought to have run off with them. He is offering a large reward for her safe return.
Regretfully, the Order is fully occupied fighting Undead in the Catacombs of Tonisborg at this time to pursue any action about her loss.
"After your success in the closed chapel, you may certainly follow up on this if you wish," the Senior tells you. If your adventuring company wanted to seek out Lady Ursula, the Keepers would gladly share the reward with you, in return for supplies and such you may need for the quest.
Barber spends hours traipsing around, in neighborhoods high and low, listening for any word of Ursula.
He discovers that she did indeed abscond with her favorite maid, but more gossips think she ran away with a dashing musician named Carran Vett that she used to go see at The Yellow Bottle in Armorer's Farthing.
Barber follows up on this lead, and discovers that Carran Vett has indeed ended his performances at the 'Bottle. A serving girl named Sanela tells Barber that Vett is a cad and a scoundrel. He wanted to "get her in a family way" (Sanela, that is), offering her pretty words and even a polished opal the size of a quail's egg.
She says she can take you to his "love nest" in the Merchant's Borough (for some coin, of course).
Barber
Worth paying for to be sure!
Barber
Scribbles, meanwhile, we'll spend the remaining 3 days he has of downtime using Read magic to interpret the grimoire we recovered, and hopefully copying a couple of new spells.
The Dungeon Master
At the beginning of Alexander's Grimoire is an invocation to a god or elemental of fire named Karakala. The spells in the book almost look like prayers or invocations to this deity, certainly asking its protection and a grant of this power.
There is also a list of components for preparing and casting a Summon Fire Elemental ritual, but no text of the ritual is to be found.
2 June 1023
Braun recruits some mercenaries, 10 Lt Inf and a Sgt, whose name is Borislav
3 June 1023
Depart for Shrine of Hades on the coast. Arrive at 2pm. Wait until about 3:30 for Ebb low tide, in order to enter the cave on the cliffside.
The natural sea-cave is smooth and sand-polished. The twisting tunnel leads to a large, sand-covered chamber with one exit and a pool of water. They hear some heavy breathing, and squishing footsteps coming toward them in the dark.
These turn out to be some kind of drowned zombies, with rusty blades or sharp chunks of coral. A group moves to attack, while a lone creature dives into the pool.
A brisk battle takes place and the drowned men are slain. They have gills on the sides of their necks…
The exit turns out to be a small cave with a strange symbol carved into the rock. Boris copies this symbol down into his notebook.
Unable to proceed any further, the group return to the shoreline. They then travel back to the nearby town of Xathok. They purchase baths in the tavern, but there are no rooms. A merchant offers the hayloft of his stable for them to sleep.
As the evening progresses the group starts trying to make friends and ask some questions about the cave. Boris shows the drawing of the symbol, and the half-dozen Dagonite patrons of the bar get up and leave, making sour expressions on their rubbery faces.
DM NOTE: Player Character Species
Dagonite - Frog-like humanoids live in the damp places of the underworld, or swampy wilderness. They are hairless, with pale blueish or green-tinged skin. In human settlements, they wear clinging garb that they constantly splash with water to protect their skin from drying.
The bartender tells Boris to “put that away”, and to go see the Alchemist Emmerich in the morning.
The next day they seek out this Emmerich, and knock on his door. It is answered by a valet, who walks with a limp. He is wearing a turquoise necklace and a flashy silver ring.
He takes them to the great room of the cottage and shortly they are joined by Master Emmerich. Boris shows him the symbol.
He tells them of the history of the cave, that there is a ruined temple down there, and it was sealed to protect the land-dwellers during the last war with the Deep Ones. He offers to give them 8 potions of water-breathing and four enchanted fish-spears if they will go down in the tunnel and kill the fish monster down there, which is attracting the Drowned Ones, devotees of the fish god. In return he asks for any jewelry or statues to be brought to him, “for they are likely quite evil and dangerous.
They agree. The valet gives them 2 hooded lanterns with Continual Light spells, for use under water.
4 June 1023
The group descends once more into the cave on the cliffside.
They see some sharks, but the sharks leave them alone. Quaffing the potions of Water Breathing, they go under water and make their way through the sea cave. At the top of the vertical tube, they can hear a deep, rhythmic pulsing. They swim down carefully, in small groups, and follow a twisting tube to a large chamber filled with construction materials and partially-completed statuary. Braun is bitten by a giant eel, it nearly takes off his leg!
Into the next chamber where there is a (greek-looking) temple carved into the rock on the NW side. Beyond it is an opening to another, larger chamber, pulsing with a blue-white light. The pulsing can be felt in their chests, now.
Two enormous coelacanth fish swim from the opening, and the party does battle. One of the men at arms is killed.
Moving to the opening, the glow illuminates a beautiful woman swimming toward them, and Boris immediately plugs his ears! The others, that are holding the silver spears given to them by Emmerich, leap forward to attack!
One of the men at arms throws his spear, and it rushes through the water as if in the air. It strikes the woman full in the chest, and she is enveloped in a web of blue electrical sparks. The woman’s form shimmers, then changes, revealing it to be an illusion disguising a large monster, shaped like an eel with a catfish-like head. The others brace their spears for a charge, and the catfish-eel does just that. The spears strike the monster, setting off another cascade of bright blue sparks, burning great holes in its flesh.
The remaining party members feel a kind of compulsion in their heads they are able to shake off (they make their saving throws!) and press the attack.Thanks to Emmerich for the magic spears, they are able to defeat the creature. Sadly, two more men at arms are killed and Boris is wounded.
They wrap bandages around the wounds to keep blood from spilling too much in the water. Then they explore this large cavern. It curves around to the right, with a “wing” bending off tothe SE, and a weird, blue-white light coming from an area in the wall and the NE side. This light comes from an area of the cavern wall that is swirling and frothing, like the stone is turned to liquid. Near this bizarre formation is a nest in the sand, with five eggs, which they smash. Also in the nest are many gold, silver and copper coins, some gems, a seahorse statue, a magical shield, and a turtle shell that hurts the eye to look at.
They take some time to observe the glowing area on the wall, and decide not to investigate further. They gather up their loot and make for the surface. The tide is coming in and they are quite anxious about sharks as they make for the exit.
They return to the surface, where Emmerich is waiting. He is able to end the effects of the water breathing potions and takes them all back to his cottage.
They rest and spend the night.
5 June 1023
Braun and two of the men at arms, Ivan and Adam, are infected with some sort of odd skin problem, but Emmerich is able to cure it with a magic ointment. They stay two more nights to rest and recover. They give the statue and turtle shell to Emmerich.
XP LOG 1 June 2023**
Torrent - 1
Bulwark - 1
Boris - 1
Braun - 1
**Liquid Treasure**
240 CP (2.4 XP)
1400 SP (140 XP)
990 GP (990 XP)
**Loot**
- 4 x amethyst
- 2 x polished coral ornaments
- 3 x pearl
- Coral Seahorse statue with tourmaline eyes
- Wooden shield, bound in bronze (untouched by exposure to salt water)
- Sea Turtle shell engraved with mystic markings that hurt your eyes to look at
- Blue star sapphire (1" in diameter)
1945 XP
**Combat XP** = 1070
Total XP = 4,147
XP each = 1,037 XP
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