It had been a month since the group had gotten together so they were pumped to play. One of the players came late but arrived in time for the Draco fight. Since it is summer, I did tell my daughter that they could have some after dinner meetings during the warmer months if they wanted.
Write up follows:
We revisited the revolving room after trudging our way back through the Usimagarian hallways, and checked our listing of visited directions once more. We felt comfortable that we would check out the North West hall first and then go to the north one and eventually down to the 4th level. So we all piled in, pressed the button, and swayed as the room rotated and ended up 1 doorway over.
We opened the door and looked out; the hall went a short distance and then turned at a 45 degree angle heading off into the dark. The walls and ceiling were once again painted black and sported little white paint spots to resemble stars and the night sky. However, the paint wasn’t as fresh, neither was the hall clean – there was a staleness to the air, and the scent of something like dry dirt.
The group took a long time checking over the hall for any traps as well as secret doors, finding none. So it was with great care that they moved down the long hall. According to their light, it was well over 50’ long and the paint job became shabbier and chipped the further the group went. Finally, Delsin had crept up to the door and gave it a listen, his fingers resting on the knob. From within he could hear some crunching sounds followed by a meaty gulping noise.
Disturbed and exhibiting great care, he twisted the knob slightly and was then dismayed to hear a “thunk” on the other side of the door as he pulled the now broken knob out of the door and held it in surprise. And then he heard something heavy move within followed by some deep grunting.
The group all ran back down the hall and hid behind the corner, peering carefully around. At first there was nothing, and then the door opened slightly and closed again. It did it twice more, each time opening up a bit more until a VERY large lizard-like snout pushed its way out and sniffled around. We stayed silent until it went back and the door closed once again.
We discussed whether we should remain in the area, go back to the revolving room and head north, or take the fight to the giant lizard. It was talked about at length, with plans being hatched, changed, altered, and refined for some time.
We took 3 flasks of oil and poured it on the floor 2/3rd of the way down the hall. Delsin lit a torch while the rest of us took our missile weapons out and got ready. And then we made a crap load of noise and were banging swords on shields and yelling.
The lizard came back to the door, and pushed it open, snarling as it hit the hallway. It stood almost 4’ tall at the shoulder, was 6’ long and had a 10’ tail behind it. Its mouth was a double row of canines and there were flaps of skin running between its legs and body. The draco-form then roared and charged down at us. Safir’s arrow struck it in the shoulder and it bounced free, Mark’s sling stone sailed over and rebounded off its skull, and Volkan’s dagger ricocheted too high and was stuck in the ceiling.
But the damned thing was fast, faster than we expected, and it was barreling towards the group too quick for them to really get another and more successful round of missile fire. So Delsin tossed the torch early and it hit the oil…bounced…and then set it on fire. He drew his sword and stepped forward to hold the Draco-form off a few precious seconds.
The lizard hit the oil, skittering on the stone floor as it tried to stop, failing as it soared through the burning oil, splashing flames everywhere. It screamed and hissed as it skated forward, its skin popping and burning, the stink of its flaming body making the party gag. Daggers went flying, arrows soared, a solid shot with a sling stone and the damned draco-form was unfazed, clawing it way to Delsin who met it with shield and sword. It was still on fire and the damned beast should have died – but was STILL standing. In fact its claws slammed Delsin back and tore the front of his breastplate wide open. The Draco caught Delsin’s swinging sword in its mouth and bit down, sundering the steel! Our fighter screamed as he was eviscerated, blood pooling about as his chest was torn to shreds. He hit the ground with a gurgling cry and his eyes were going blank.
So Safir and Volkan continued to pour every missile weapon they could on the Draco-form who was staggering but still coming for us. With Delsin down and dying, Mark tried to get close enough to offer aid but the lizard wasn’t letting him. It bit and chewed at the cleric, slicing and cutting at him, while Mark was lying about with the Mace of Gorm. The enchanted weapon was leaving blue sparks of light about and then everything lined up just right. Mark brought the weapon around in a wide arc just as the Draco-form was coming back in an effort to bite him – and the two met with a spray of blue sparks and a crack of thunder.
The Draco-form had fallen over, it’s head stove in from the impact. The rest of the party pulled Delsin free of the fallen lizard and Volkan…begrudgingly…gave up his healing potion in order to bring Delsin back to consciousness and the positive side of the hit point total.
Bandages were spread about and we took in Delsin breastplate, helping him back into it and noting that he wasn’t as well defended in the busted armor. With nothing else to wear, he laced it as tight as he could and would keep his eye out for something else to replace it with.
We stepped around the Draco and went down to the end chamber, peering in. It was a ceremonial chamber but it had fallen to disrepair. There were some tapestries but they had grown faded and worn; an altar was on the far end of the room, a partially eaten human wearing leather was lying behind it. The group checked out the room, finding the devoured body still had a water skin on him as well as a pack with some lock picks, some money, and had 2 daggers – one of which was silvered steel.
As for the altar, the chalice and candle holders were well maintained and carved wood – but nothing else. We spent a long time looking around the chamber for any secret doors and found none, eventually heading back to the hall. The group then carved into the draco-form, taking 5’ of its tail, one of its fangs, and even an eye-ball for some reason.
It was about 10 after 2 when we went back to the revolving room and took the northern passage. It went a long distance and ended at a “T” intersection. Safir let us know that the right passage went off to the 4th level. So we went left instead and checked it out. The hall went for a while and then turned left again – ending at a door.
Once satisfied the door was not trapped, Volkan opened it and we looked in. It was a store room with shelves on 3 of the walls; a few of them had wooden crates. Patches of yellow fungus were growing everywhere. The decision was made to check them out, Volkan heading first. He went up to one of them but the fungus nearest him swelled up and compressed, sending choking spores everywhere. He staggered back; eyes clenched shut as he tried to make it to the exit but fell over gasping and passed out.
Delsin and Mark pulled him through the door and washed off his dusty face with the extra water skin. Then Delsin took out a torch, lit it, and went into the chamber, setting each patch of yellow fungus alight. It took some time but they were all burned inert and Volkan woke up feeling sheepish. The boxes had nothing of value in them and we closed everything up, heading back to the “T” intersection and going right this time.
There was a door again at the end of a long hall and Mark for some reason knocked on the door and yelled out “Hello!” We all looked at him and then behind us, we heard a raspy voice call out, “Hello? Wait for us!”
Shit, we attracted some wandering monsters! A flask of oil was tossed to the floor as the group spread out. And circling the corner were a half dozen larger goblinoid figures with broad shoulders and spikey orange hair. Hobgoblins! Crap.
They didn’t trust us, we didn’t trust them, and when it came time, they hurled axes at the group before drawing swords to step forward and hit us. But Volkan called out a sleep spell and let the magic fly – dropping all 6 of the hobgoblins! We wasted no time in dispatching the sleeping foes and killed them all; taking the few coins they had on them as payment and then reminded Mark to “shut the hell up”.
We opened the chamber and looked in. It was fairly well desecrated, most of the statuary ruined, the altars smashed in. Zargon was scrawled on the walls in places and there were symbols of a single eye rather prevalent. The south end of the room had a section of the floor that was cordoned off with its own railing, and when any weight was put upon it, it sloped down and into the darkness – heading off to the 4th level.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Meet 20, Adv 3, 6/17/17
This is a town adventure, so besides the world building and LARPing opportunities, there isn't much traditional d20 combat kick in the door take the loot set it on fire situations. What there are though are some vignettes where the group has to go in and play to their strengths, roll the d20s, and do what they can in the context of who they are and their skill set.
So we had the druid calming and playing to the semi-domesticated boars, the wizard circling the battlefield dropping sleep spells, the monk and half-ogre going in to danger and toe to toe with the big baddies, and the charismatic dexterous dude filling in what spots he needs and keeping the NPC's off our ass.
Not everything is a swing for critical hits, and that's ok too!
Write up follows:
The group made their way down Grand Blvd to 2nd Avenue and turned to Unterlion Cheeses, a large sprawling building and cheese shop on the corner. We made our way around back and knocked on the closed fence by the loading bay. A few shadowy figured behind the slats asked us to wait while they went and got Lung who eventually came out and had the gate opened for us.
The Half-orc was once again flanked by his two relatives, known more for their size and intimidation, happy to make the party’s acquaintance once again. A heavy cart and pony was already set up for us, along with half a dozen 4 gallon pails with lids and wax stoppers. A few clay seals were in place as Lung went over the job with us again. We would drive the cart to the Terrace Gate and then to the Polemark Farm where his cousin Rupert Half-Orc would be waiting for the party along with a small number of trusted farmhands. Then the group would help in wrangling the 12 sows to the barn where they could be milked one at a time, all the while not hurting the boars or allowing the males to either hurt the party or be hurt themselves. Then we would have to drive the cart back to Unterlion Cheeses with as many sealed pails as could be gotten. In return we would be given a large pouch of coins (no less than 100) and more importantly, a successful employment contract which would be given to the 3rd Reeve and allow the group to spend another 4 days in town solidifying a working contract.
Darius drove and Avulstein and Connal rode in the wagon while Einar and Negan walked along, the party making their way out of the Randari Quarter and up Grand Boulevard to Central Gate. Once there, the guards asked a few short questions and waved us through. We stayed on Grand and made our way along Central Quarter until we arrived Upper Gate.
It was here that the guards were paying better attention. They looked over the travel pass we had and noted that it was late. “Burning the midnight oil”. A casual inspection of the wagon followed but we were let on and wished well. The trip through Overcliff and the lee side of CobbleHill had the group tromping along, winding ever higher up Jarl’s Tooth as we made our way at long last to Terrace Gate. The guards here gave us the hardest time, but still did their job. They looked under the wagon, poked about, questioned Avulstein and accepted that he was a druid companion to Einar and his Frey-Disk.
We did note that the gate did have some detection ability built in, and specific ally illusion was mentioned (of which we had none). They did let us through and one of the guards escorted the group to the 3rd terrace and Polemark farms (3rd farm) where at the gate they alerted people by the barn and Rupert came over to vouch for the party. The guard signed us over and went back to the gate and we entered the Polemark Farms.
Rupert had 4 others with him and we were told that the family was asleep and the other farmhands that he didn’t have with him were zonked out from a night of drinking. We were led to the barn and parked the wagon along the back and then we all offloaded the pails and took a look at the situation we had.
There were 12 sows and 3 males, one of which were pushing 300#’s and was surely the alpha. The barn had a corral gate that led to the boar pen which was 100’x60’; through the corral pen were the calf stalls where the animals were going to be milked. The piglets were sleeping and we took our time walking the pen and getting a feel for the boars and their attitude. Right away, we knew the alpha was going to be the biggest problem and we wanted to neutralize him first.
Rupert lent us a number of burlap sacks from the barn and Darius doled out his silk rope to Negan, Connal and Avulstein. Einar was going to help bring the animals in, relying on his own ability to keep wild animals somewhat calm and Darius had a bag of apples, already cutting them up and setting a few up on thatching cord to use as a lure. Once we were all ready, Avulstein called out a sleep spell and the Alpha male, one of the betas, and a sow or two fell over knocked out. What was frightening was the alpha boar refused to fall asleep at first! We could see him snuffling and fighting, struggling to stay awake until after 30 tense seconds he fell asleep.
With that the first sow was escorted in and Einar and Darius used apples and calm words to keep the sows from getting agitated. Negan and Connal jumped the fence and made their way to the two males. They started hog-tying them up while Avulstein wandered around the outside of the pen where he hit the 3rd male with another sleep spell, dropping him and a few more sows. The other two were working fast to tie the boars up and then they put the sack firmly over their heads, after tossing in a few apple slices Darius offered. Negan then physically dragged the animals about the pen; the females near the corral and the males towards the back of the pen.
Meanwhile, Einar and Darius were cycling fresh sows in through the corral to Rupert and his men every 5 minutes or less. Negan dragged the few sows that had been affected by the sleep spell closer and over to the corral so that when the enchantment wore off, they joined the queue and ate Darius’ apples. The males were something else. They started off thrashing about and kicking, but the ropes held and all they ended up doing was flapping about. The Alpha was the worst of it, almost hurting himself which had Avulstein fire off the 3rd sleep spell and we tossed more sliced up apples in the bag.
One by one, the boars were milked until the 12th was finished. We had 4 and a half full milk pails – 18 gallons which would be about 20 lbs of cheese. Rupert thanked us and reported that we were both diligent and respectful. It was here that we made our way back to the pens, untied the males, and then when they were charging about, slamming into fences and snorting wildly, we snatched the bags off their heads and ran for the fencing, getting over before anything bad happened or anyone got terribly hurt.
We returned the bags to Rupert and then loaded back onto the cart and started driving it out of the Polemark Farms and back towards the Terrace Gate. It was perhaps 20 minutes to one. As we approached the gate we were stopped again and the guards gave the cart a serious look over. They were strict and might have been over reaching in their questions, but eventually they did let us go. Sighing in relief, we continued on to the Upper Gate where a similar line of questioning followed but much friendlier. And then the Central Gate let us through and we drove up to Unterlion Cheese by ten after one.
Lung was called and the staff of Unterlion Cheeses came out to check the seals (unbroken) and then take a small taste of the milk. Lung was satisfied and wrote off on our contract that it was complete, sending it to the Third Reeve’s Office to be put in the slot without delay. He gave us a small block of cheddar as thanks and tossed us the large jingling pouch of coins. Exhausted we made our way back to the Pennywhistle and exhausted, crawled into bed at 1:30, knowing we were going to be tired tomorrow.
7 AM came early and we woke up, cleaned up, and went down to the Common Room to eat and discuss not only last night’s job, but also what was to come today (Midnight Waters?). The call then went out to divide the coins we got and when the pouch was opened, there were indeed 100 plus coins in there – but they weren’t nobles – they were actually nickel flats and slugs. We looked over the terms of the contract and it never indicated what we would be paid, just that it was to be a large pouch of at least 100 coins.
We were worried then, besides Lung fucking us on the payment, did he actually send the report to Third Reeve Theros? We would find out very shortly as we closed up our breakfast and made our ways to the offices.
Once there we only had to wait a short time before we learned that the employment contract HAD been turned in and that the Third Reeve was happy to announce that we were invited to stay in Sorton at least until the 3rd of next month. Perhaps longer as he was working on an employment opportunity and contract with House Illytch and it should be done soon. With the threat of having to leave Sorton before the 3rd Reeve could do his job for us, we left the Offices and found ourselves back on Grand Blvd.
We were pissed at Lung for fucking us on the payment, but as had been mentioned in the offices, you have to read the contracts carefully, especially for jobs that don’t come through the Reeve’s Office.
So now we had to take care of Midnight Water – and that had to be done before 2:30 tomorrow the 30th. Avulstein was going to need new spell components and since the sleep spells had been working well for us, that was to be tackled first. Darius had dated a florist’s daughter a few years back and knew where the shop was – so he volunteered to go and get rose petals. While there he was hoping to stop by the family shop and gather up a prism or two for Avulstein’s read magic spell. Connal was going to the Temple of Sif to get some information about the Temple of Loki – and we would all meet back for lunch at the Pennywhistle by 12ish.
Darius made his way through Central Quarter and up to Overcliff. From there he wandered down the main thoroughfare until he arrived at Sorton’s Rising Florist. Entering it was as he remembered and the attractive late 30-something woman behind the counter remembered Darius, giving him a hug and a welcoming squeeze. They talked a bit about where he’s been and what he’s done, his family, hers, and in general the town. Meg (the florist) did sell Darius a decent sized leather bag stuffed with rose petals that apparently the Arcane Academy also purchased on occasion. She also did it at a low price and her innuendoes were getting…racy.
It was then discovered that Mister Florist had been banished for assault and spousal abuse some 9 months earlier, and a divorce and bequethement of the shop and its inventory was awarded to Meg Florist for her pain and troubles. So she was working, and all alone, and looking for some company. So Darius was invited back for dinner and he accepted, getting another hug and a peck on the lips for his efforts. And with that he left, circled the corner, and mopped the sweat from his brow.
Connal went to the Temple of Sif and spoke with Adept Miragius about Loki and their hierarchy. There were (at least here) 13 Higher Priests and 26 Lesser Priests. They also don’t have a particular name, eventually giving it up in service of Loki so they can all at any time impersonate one another if need be. Upper 3, Lesser 17, etc… They are also deceivers not because they lie outright, but because they tell 90% of the truth and mislead you the other 10%. Connal thanked him and decided he wanted a more personal and closer look at the Temple.
Darius went by the family jewelry shop and looked in the window. His eldest brother, Gordson, was sitting at the counter and was directing the staff in whatever jobs they were doing. He did see his youngest sister, Twilaine, sweeping up near the side. So he snuck to the window and tapped on it to get her attention. She was thrilled to see him and motioned for him to go to the back door. He did and then heard the sound of the bolt sliding free and his 16 year old younger sister pulled him in the shop and fiercely hugged him.
They spent a few minutes whispering to one another and catching up, always aware that Gordson could come around at any time. He was trying to inspire her to leave the shop and family; she was being pressured to marry Isilwine Goldsmith who she identified as old, pimply, and terrible. He tried to tell her she had a choice and she just seemed so lost.
He did comment he needed a prism and she went to the shelf and gave him a box of a half-dozen or so low quality crystal prisms. Getting a last hug he promised to come and visit her again before he left through the back of the shop, leaving his sister crying softly as he shut the door and made his way back to the Pennywhistle.
Connal entered the Temple of Loki, red and blues and blacks were prevalent about the place. He was approached by a acolyte wearing a stylishly cut red vestment who took the time to talk to Connal about Loki and the world, guiding the man through the place and offering to spot him at the adjoining gambling hall known as the Happy Horse. He played a few hands of poker, and even though he didn’t win, suspected that he did pretty well all things considered. He promised he’d look into it and would be happy to come back. There was a festival/party tonight from 6 PM on and everyone was invited.
The party then reconvened at the Pennywhistle and shared what we had gathered and learned. There were 4 doors @ the Temple, one led outside, one led to the Happy Horse, and 2 others were somewhere else. No stairs – we had heard enough that the midnight water was found in the basement level where only the High Priests are known to go and reside.
There was some thought to going BEFORE the party and again attempting AFTER the party started – and the pros and cons of each were discussed but to no satisfaction. What was decided was that Avulstein and Connal were going to just brazenly head off to the Temple now and see if they can get in to where they need to.
So we had the druid calming and playing to the semi-domesticated boars, the wizard circling the battlefield dropping sleep spells, the monk and half-ogre going in to danger and toe to toe with the big baddies, and the charismatic dexterous dude filling in what spots he needs and keeping the NPC's off our ass.
Not everything is a swing for critical hits, and that's ok too!
Write up follows:
The group made their way down Grand Blvd to 2nd Avenue and turned to Unterlion Cheeses, a large sprawling building and cheese shop on the corner. We made our way around back and knocked on the closed fence by the loading bay. A few shadowy figured behind the slats asked us to wait while they went and got Lung who eventually came out and had the gate opened for us.
The Half-orc was once again flanked by his two relatives, known more for their size and intimidation, happy to make the party’s acquaintance once again. A heavy cart and pony was already set up for us, along with half a dozen 4 gallon pails with lids and wax stoppers. A few clay seals were in place as Lung went over the job with us again. We would drive the cart to the Terrace Gate and then to the Polemark Farm where his cousin Rupert Half-Orc would be waiting for the party along with a small number of trusted farmhands. Then the group would help in wrangling the 12 sows to the barn where they could be milked one at a time, all the while not hurting the boars or allowing the males to either hurt the party or be hurt themselves. Then we would have to drive the cart back to Unterlion Cheeses with as many sealed pails as could be gotten. In return we would be given a large pouch of coins (no less than 100) and more importantly, a successful employment contract which would be given to the 3rd Reeve and allow the group to spend another 4 days in town solidifying a working contract.
Darius drove and Avulstein and Connal rode in the wagon while Einar and Negan walked along, the party making their way out of the Randari Quarter and up Grand Boulevard to Central Gate. Once there, the guards asked a few short questions and waved us through. We stayed on Grand and made our way along Central Quarter until we arrived Upper Gate.
It was here that the guards were paying better attention. They looked over the travel pass we had and noted that it was late. “Burning the midnight oil”. A casual inspection of the wagon followed but we were let on and wished well. The trip through Overcliff and the lee side of CobbleHill had the group tromping along, winding ever higher up Jarl’s Tooth as we made our way at long last to Terrace Gate. The guards here gave us the hardest time, but still did their job. They looked under the wagon, poked about, questioned Avulstein and accepted that he was a druid companion to Einar and his Frey-Disk.
We did note that the gate did have some detection ability built in, and specific ally illusion was mentioned (of which we had none). They did let us through and one of the guards escorted the group to the 3rd terrace and Polemark farms (3rd farm) where at the gate they alerted people by the barn and Rupert came over to vouch for the party. The guard signed us over and went back to the gate and we entered the Polemark Farms.
Rupert had 4 others with him and we were told that the family was asleep and the other farmhands that he didn’t have with him were zonked out from a night of drinking. We were led to the barn and parked the wagon along the back and then we all offloaded the pails and took a look at the situation we had.
There were 12 sows and 3 males, one of which were pushing 300#’s and was surely the alpha. The barn had a corral gate that led to the boar pen which was 100’x60’; through the corral pen were the calf stalls where the animals were going to be milked. The piglets were sleeping and we took our time walking the pen and getting a feel for the boars and their attitude. Right away, we knew the alpha was going to be the biggest problem and we wanted to neutralize him first.
Rupert lent us a number of burlap sacks from the barn and Darius doled out his silk rope to Negan, Connal and Avulstein. Einar was going to help bring the animals in, relying on his own ability to keep wild animals somewhat calm and Darius had a bag of apples, already cutting them up and setting a few up on thatching cord to use as a lure. Once we were all ready, Avulstein called out a sleep spell and the Alpha male, one of the betas, and a sow or two fell over knocked out. What was frightening was the alpha boar refused to fall asleep at first! We could see him snuffling and fighting, struggling to stay awake until after 30 tense seconds he fell asleep.
With that the first sow was escorted in and Einar and Darius used apples and calm words to keep the sows from getting agitated. Negan and Connal jumped the fence and made their way to the two males. They started hog-tying them up while Avulstein wandered around the outside of the pen where he hit the 3rd male with another sleep spell, dropping him and a few more sows. The other two were working fast to tie the boars up and then they put the sack firmly over their heads, after tossing in a few apple slices Darius offered. Negan then physically dragged the animals about the pen; the females near the corral and the males towards the back of the pen.
Meanwhile, Einar and Darius were cycling fresh sows in through the corral to Rupert and his men every 5 minutes or less. Negan dragged the few sows that had been affected by the sleep spell closer and over to the corral so that when the enchantment wore off, they joined the queue and ate Darius’ apples. The males were something else. They started off thrashing about and kicking, but the ropes held and all they ended up doing was flapping about. The Alpha was the worst of it, almost hurting himself which had Avulstein fire off the 3rd sleep spell and we tossed more sliced up apples in the bag.
One by one, the boars were milked until the 12th was finished. We had 4 and a half full milk pails – 18 gallons which would be about 20 lbs of cheese. Rupert thanked us and reported that we were both diligent and respectful. It was here that we made our way back to the pens, untied the males, and then when they were charging about, slamming into fences and snorting wildly, we snatched the bags off their heads and ran for the fencing, getting over before anything bad happened or anyone got terribly hurt.
We returned the bags to Rupert and then loaded back onto the cart and started driving it out of the Polemark Farms and back towards the Terrace Gate. It was perhaps 20 minutes to one. As we approached the gate we were stopped again and the guards gave the cart a serious look over. They were strict and might have been over reaching in their questions, but eventually they did let us go. Sighing in relief, we continued on to the Upper Gate where a similar line of questioning followed but much friendlier. And then the Central Gate let us through and we drove up to Unterlion Cheese by ten after one.
Lung was called and the staff of Unterlion Cheeses came out to check the seals (unbroken) and then take a small taste of the milk. Lung was satisfied and wrote off on our contract that it was complete, sending it to the Third Reeve’s Office to be put in the slot without delay. He gave us a small block of cheddar as thanks and tossed us the large jingling pouch of coins. Exhausted we made our way back to the Pennywhistle and exhausted, crawled into bed at 1:30, knowing we were going to be tired tomorrow.
7 AM came early and we woke up, cleaned up, and went down to the Common Room to eat and discuss not only last night’s job, but also what was to come today (Midnight Waters?). The call then went out to divide the coins we got and when the pouch was opened, there were indeed 100 plus coins in there – but they weren’t nobles – they were actually nickel flats and slugs. We looked over the terms of the contract and it never indicated what we would be paid, just that it was to be a large pouch of at least 100 coins.
We were worried then, besides Lung fucking us on the payment, did he actually send the report to Third Reeve Theros? We would find out very shortly as we closed up our breakfast and made our ways to the offices.
Once there we only had to wait a short time before we learned that the employment contract HAD been turned in and that the Third Reeve was happy to announce that we were invited to stay in Sorton at least until the 3rd of next month. Perhaps longer as he was working on an employment opportunity and contract with House Illytch and it should be done soon. With the threat of having to leave Sorton before the 3rd Reeve could do his job for us, we left the Offices and found ourselves back on Grand Blvd.
We were pissed at Lung for fucking us on the payment, but as had been mentioned in the offices, you have to read the contracts carefully, especially for jobs that don’t come through the Reeve’s Office.
So now we had to take care of Midnight Water – and that had to be done before 2:30 tomorrow the 30th. Avulstein was going to need new spell components and since the sleep spells had been working well for us, that was to be tackled first. Darius had dated a florist’s daughter a few years back and knew where the shop was – so he volunteered to go and get rose petals. While there he was hoping to stop by the family shop and gather up a prism or two for Avulstein’s read magic spell. Connal was going to the Temple of Sif to get some information about the Temple of Loki – and we would all meet back for lunch at the Pennywhistle by 12ish.
Darius made his way through Central Quarter and up to Overcliff. From there he wandered down the main thoroughfare until he arrived at Sorton’s Rising Florist. Entering it was as he remembered and the attractive late 30-something woman behind the counter remembered Darius, giving him a hug and a welcoming squeeze. They talked a bit about where he’s been and what he’s done, his family, hers, and in general the town. Meg (the florist) did sell Darius a decent sized leather bag stuffed with rose petals that apparently the Arcane Academy also purchased on occasion. She also did it at a low price and her innuendoes were getting…racy.
It was then discovered that Mister Florist had been banished for assault and spousal abuse some 9 months earlier, and a divorce and bequethement of the shop and its inventory was awarded to Meg Florist for her pain and troubles. So she was working, and all alone, and looking for some company. So Darius was invited back for dinner and he accepted, getting another hug and a peck on the lips for his efforts. And with that he left, circled the corner, and mopped the sweat from his brow.
Connal went to the Temple of Sif and spoke with Adept Miragius about Loki and their hierarchy. There were (at least here) 13 Higher Priests and 26 Lesser Priests. They also don’t have a particular name, eventually giving it up in service of Loki so they can all at any time impersonate one another if need be. Upper 3, Lesser 17, etc… They are also deceivers not because they lie outright, but because they tell 90% of the truth and mislead you the other 10%. Connal thanked him and decided he wanted a more personal and closer look at the Temple.
Darius went by the family jewelry shop and looked in the window. His eldest brother, Gordson, was sitting at the counter and was directing the staff in whatever jobs they were doing. He did see his youngest sister, Twilaine, sweeping up near the side. So he snuck to the window and tapped on it to get her attention. She was thrilled to see him and motioned for him to go to the back door. He did and then heard the sound of the bolt sliding free and his 16 year old younger sister pulled him in the shop and fiercely hugged him.
They spent a few minutes whispering to one another and catching up, always aware that Gordson could come around at any time. He was trying to inspire her to leave the shop and family; she was being pressured to marry Isilwine Goldsmith who she identified as old, pimply, and terrible. He tried to tell her she had a choice and she just seemed so lost.
He did comment he needed a prism and she went to the shelf and gave him a box of a half-dozen or so low quality crystal prisms. Getting a last hug he promised to come and visit her again before he left through the back of the shop, leaving his sister crying softly as he shut the door and made his way back to the Pennywhistle.
Connal entered the Temple of Loki, red and blues and blacks were prevalent about the place. He was approached by a acolyte wearing a stylishly cut red vestment who took the time to talk to Connal about Loki and the world, guiding the man through the place and offering to spot him at the adjoining gambling hall known as the Happy Horse. He played a few hands of poker, and even though he didn’t win, suspected that he did pretty well all things considered. He promised he’d look into it and would be happy to come back. There was a festival/party tonight from 6 PM on and everyone was invited.
The party then reconvened at the Pennywhistle and shared what we had gathered and learned. There were 4 doors @ the Temple, one led outside, one led to the Happy Horse, and 2 others were somewhere else. No stairs – we had heard enough that the midnight water was found in the basement level where only the High Priests are known to go and reside.
There was some thought to going BEFORE the party and again attempting AFTER the party started – and the pros and cons of each were discussed but to no satisfaction. What was decided was that Avulstein and Connal were going to just brazenly head off to the Temple now and see if they can get in to where they need to.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Meet 19, Adv 3, 6/3/17
This was the first meeting with the new dynamic of one permanent member down. One of our original guys moved to PA after being at my table and friend for almost 10 years. He will be sorely missed. As far as game play went, nothing materially different. What happened though was entirely off the cuff up to and except for the end of the night when a job opportunity from Lung Unter to get boar's milk for cheese, this wall all n the spot story flowing making it up as we went along.
And I happened to like it. The party interviewed a criminal to get a "promise" out of him and became engaged in his plights and troubles - so much so that they actually went to his mother and took care of her. An orcish woman, laundering clothes from a tenement apartment in the ghetto section of a dwarven town, and having a rampant growth on her chest that everyone said will kill her in weeks or months and NO ONE would help or heal her. So the son turned to a life of crime (petty) to get enough funds to at least keep his mom in drink and the rent paid since medicine was out of reach and operating or curing it was not even a feasible option.
I liked it, it was an opportunity for the party to exercise the "good" portion of the alignment tree and no care so much about the Law/Chaos aspect of the axis.
Write up follows:
We walked from the Notary Offices near the Church of Frigga back to the Militia Holding cells and the gallows. We had hired Coriso, a half-orcish female notary and adherent of Frigga to pen down what we needed, noting that she talked about her job and what it meant to be a notary. The station of her office, her signature, and her seal on a document is binding and held up to truth and veracity – up to and including if need be, at an Ecclesiastic court should the matter be required.
At the Holding cells we had been remembered and one of the deputies spoke to the group about the two men that were to be hung by end of day today. One was a dwarven male named Vipolian who had been captured, tried, and found guilty for the assault and eventual death of two courtesans from the Randari Quarter. The other was a half-orcish male named Centius who had been caught stealing from his employer, assaulting a wagon driver, then sentenced for his outstanding debt from which he escaped servitude and was caught after sneaking back into the city.
We discussed the two men and decided to try and speak with Centius as we could most likely extract a promise from him. Einar was going to be the main speaker, hoping that the two Randari would have a better rapport than if one of the other party members tried to talk. We were instructed that we should hand nothing to the prisoner without getting it looked at first by the guard on duty and then his permission would or would not be granted.
While we waited in the small room, the half-orc was brought in. Centius was just a notch over 6’ tall, and had to weigh closer to 260 lbs. There was a simpleness about him as if he sort of had no idea how he ended up here. We talked to him for a while, Einar was the main point of contact, and learned that there is a not so subtle undercurrent between the dwarves (at least here in Sorton) and the orcish and half-orcish people. Not a hatred, but a racism that colors everything the two races do.
And Centius had no love for the dwarves. And the dwarves in the room had little respect for Centius. He admitted his crime, but it was fueled entire for his love for his mother. She had a growth that has been robbing her of life and getting bigger, on the left side of chest. When they tried to get it looked at after a number of hospices and healers had looked, culminating at the healers of Odin, it was stated that there was nothing that could be done for her and she was going to die.
And it would be in terrible pain.
Centius tried working but it wasn’t enough, the medication from the apothecists was terribly expensive and it came down to the fact that the cheapest thing for his mom was drinking low quality spirits – effectively getting so plastered the pain was able to be ignored.
Now that he was in jail and going to be hung today, there was no one to help or look after his mom. She had to have run out of spirits by now, and there wasn’t much food left, plus there was rent due and she was probably going to be kicked out of town where she’ll die on the road like an animal. In exchange for our help for his mom (whose name we had gotten out was Opseta), Centius gave his promise that he would do all he could for Einar and Avulstein in this life and the next. In fact, Centius went on to say that he was going to try and take one of the dwarven executioners off the gallows with him when he was hung later.
We had Coriso write down his promise, got permission from the guard for Centius to make his mark, and then had it notarized by the Friggan Adherent. Centius could not be any happier given the situation and we left him with the promise that we’d be back to see his hanging today at 4 PM.
It was a quarter to 12 when we left the jail and Coriso was disturbed by the entire exchange. She left and we had the written out promise in hand notarized and ready. We then were going to go back through the Central Gate and make our way to the Randari Quarter and eventually to the tenement houses that Opseta and Centius lived in.
On the way we were treated to the reverse racism and hostility that Einar had commented on a few days ago. Darius was unused to this amount of vitriol and ran afoul of some of the locals who then took it upon themselves to shadow the party as they made their way off main street and deeper into the Randari Quarter. They found the tenement housing in question, made their way up to the 3rd floor, and took the dimly lit hall to apartment “4”.
We knocked and were met at the door by a large and fat orcish female of advancing years. She was reeling slightly and holding onto what seemed to be a third massive tit under her left side. We identified ourselves, said we had spoken with Centius, and after getting her to believe we were on her side, were invited in. Even though the place was small and poor, it was clean and showed that someone who cared lived there.
Opseta was a laundress and until recently would do the laundry for her clients, Centius was her runner, going off to deliver and pick up her needed supplied and materials. She talked about the cancerous mass and the fact that it was killing her. She suspected she had about a month or two left and it was getting harder to move around. She bemoaned the soon to be death of her son and knew that her days were limited both alive and even in this apartment.
It was here that the group talked about her cancer, the costs to get it fixed (if even possible), and the cost of the drugs to help her deal with the pain. Einar and Negan were both anxious to help out (the druid more so), but eventually it turned to “what if we cut the lump out of you ourselves?”
What?
Negan was going to have to do it as the closest thing we had to a skilled healer, but with Avulstein’s help, Einar’s guidance during the operation, and Darius’ nimble and dexterous hands to keep the cancerous lump from flowing wildly about – we hoped to be able to give Opseta a much needed new lease on life. Being that she was a laundress, there were plenty of bleached towels and sheets already in the apartment. The party started the stove and set a pot to boil, filling it will tools and knives and tongs.
We talked about being able to do the operation and decided that we needed a scalpel and perhaps something to knock her out. There was a Randari apothecist a few blocks from here and Einar volunteered to go out and get the supplies. He left the apartment and when he got to the bottom floor was surprised to find a half-orc down there, one of the ones who had gotten into the verbal spat with Darius. The half-orc asked if Einar knew where “that guy” had gone off to. Not wanting to have Darius (or the rest of the party) deal with this, he gave the half-orc some line of bull that the guy had gone elsewhere and most likely was back in Slagbottom.
He made it to the Apothecist where the windows were small and barred and the door was locked. A smaller door was opened in the thick wood and an angry voice was asking Einar a bunch of questions before he had to prove he was a druid (disk and prayer to Frey) and then was let in. Once inside a hulking half-ogre with a massive heavy crossbow ordered him to turn around and put his hands on the door while he was briefly checked over and then allowed to approach the counter.
Vanil was the Half-orc apothecist and they had the system in place due to numerous robberies over the years. The place was pretty well stocked and Einar could see the 2nd floor landing had a herb garden growing up there. He explained what he was looking for and was eventually shown a silvered steel scalpel. It was expensive but when Vanil found out what it was for, he gave Einar a break on the morphine since the locals liked Opseta and thought that Centius had broken the law but was still a good son.
Once back in the apartment the group got together, administered Opseta 3 drops as we had been instructed by Vanil, and waited for her to pass out. We knew we had between 1 and 4 hours before she would wake up. Einar began the entire process by calling out some prayers to Frey and asking the god to guide Negan’s hands. Then Darius lifted the cancerous lump away, holding it like a ball, and Negan began cutting. We took our time and watched Opseta often. When it looked like her strength was flagging and her breathing was becoming painful or raspy, we stopped. Healing spells were called out often and Einar repeated his prayers to Frey to Guide Negan as the half-ogre laboriously cut away the entire mass.
Darius was forced to move and adjust his position often and we kept a careful eye on the amount of blood that was coating the linens, the table, and dripping to the floor. Einar had a sense for corrupted flesh and kept guiding Negan to make sure he got all the corrupted and cancerous growth out. It was over 2 hours before we had finished and the entire 20# mass was dropped into a honey bucket for disposal at another time.
We then cleaned up a bit while Negan stitched Opseta closed. It was a ragged and messy job but a healing spell afterwards at least accelerated some of the stitchwork and gave the orcish mother a better chance to pull through. We dropped a bit of bleach in the bowl with the mass and covered it with a bit of linen, brought Opseta to her bed and stayed with her until she awoke groggy and surprised to be alive. We told her that we’d check on her soon and that we wanted to go to the hanging to see Centius off.
As we left the tenement, keeping up Einar’s promises, we stopped at the Landlord, a surly looking half-orc named Teclius. We paid 6 months’ rent for Opseta which Teclius said was a waste since she’d be dead soon, everyone knew that. Einar got pissy and said, "Then fine, we’re paying rent on a dead woman’s apartment and she is entitled to stay there, even if she’s dead." Teclius took the money with a shrug and the group left.
We stopped back at the apothecist where Vanil made Einar do the entire wait, half-ogre checks him out thing (we learned the half-ogre’s name was Lummox – fitting) and was happy to hear that the operation was a success – at least so far. He then asked if we had the cancer and after finding out Vanil could use some of the strange growths and fluids within in a variety of experimental cures and distillates, Einar went BACK to the tenement, let himself into Opseta’s apartment, took the honey bucket and the key to the place, went out and LOCKED the door behind him, and then went down the streets and back to Vanil’s where Lummox once again threatened to shoot the half-orc in the nuts if he tried anything.
Vanil was thankful for the donation that he offered Einar either 3 healing draughts or a potion (he took the potion) in exchange and the two of them bid each other farewell. The party then hoofed it out of the Randari Quarter, along Grand Blvd, through Central Gate, and made it to the gallows and hanging grounds in Central Quarter with about 15 minutes to spare. We pushed our way to the front and waited. It wasn’t long before the hangman’s cart was wheeled out with Centius and a dwarf we guessed as Vipolian chained to it.
The crowd threw rocks and rotting vegetables at the two prisoners who were then brought to the gallows and set up on the blocks with nooses around their necks. The main gaoler read off the charges of the two men while Centius was happy to see us. We pantomimed that his mom was fine and he seemed energized and charged up. The dwarven guards had chained his hands behind him (not normally done) in response to his threats he had made earlier about taking one of the guards out with him so he’d go to Valhalla.
Then it was time, the snare drums were beat and then just as they stopped, Centius bulged his muscles and ripped his arms out – and the chains snapped! He pitched forward and grabbed the hood wearing dwarven executioner screaming “For Avulstein!! For Avulstein!!” as he said he was going to do. The floor opened beneath him and the two of them fell, the half-orc throttling the dwarf on the way down but his neck broke at the drop and he died, dropping the dwarf the rest of the way to the floor where he landed amidst the crowd cheering and gasping. As for Vipolian, he twitched and choked and sputtered for two minutes before he finally died at the end of the rope.
We were exhausted, and wanted to get back to the Pennywhistle and relax while we talked about the next 2 days we had in town and Avulstein’s 2 last things – boar’s blood and midnight water. On the way, we did detour by the Sifian Temple where Connal had a chance to talk with Adept Miragius. There was some consternation that the monastic had not returned for his entrance test to the Grim Gauntlets but it had been learned and passed on by Deathspeaker Parylis of Connal’s activities.
So he was given a bye. In fact he was invited to apply on the 30th only if and after the terms of Avulstein’s tasks had been completed; since it was known that Connal and the rest of the party were helping out and participating. Which made Avulstein’s success now directly important to him and Connal.
We went back to the Pennywhistle and started brainstorming ideas on how to get to the Terraces when we decided to approach Curd, the proprietor of the Pennywhistle and see if he could help us (for a price). He said he would ask around since the party had gathered some notoriety and there were those in town who didn’t exactly like the League.
It was about 5:30 or so when a swarthy looking half-orc and his two companions approached the group. Curd gave us a wave and nod, signaling that there callers were here at his ok so we sat and talked. They are the owner and supporting backers of Unterlion Cheeses, a pretty decent sized cheese shop and bakery on Grand Blvd in the Randari Quarter right by Central Gate. Lung Unter, the half-orc, has heard of the party’s plight and seems to commiserate with the group. Too long had the League of Odin pushed their agenda about town, and the fact that the party got into a fight with their members has tickled many of those who the League considers beneath them in the Slagbottom and Randari quarters.
Lung has a proposition for the group. Normally he’d go through the 2nd Reeve for this but there is a cost and stipend that truthfully he would like to avoid paying just once in his life. House Illytch has many smaller farms and livestock groups along the Terraces and once of them is managed by a cousin of Lung named Rupurt Halforc. He has let Lung know that all 12 of his boars have calfed piglets and are lactating. Something that rarely happens.
Lung wants to get all the boars milked one night and then bring the milk here to Unterlion Cheeses. He would need someone to drive the ponies and cart though the Central Gate, through the Upper Gate, and then through the Terrace gate, drive to the Terraces, arrive at the Polemark Farm and meet with Rupurt Halforc. Then the group would have to enter the fields and subdue and rope up the boars one at a time, bringing them to an area where Rupurt’s people (six of them) would milk the boars and then seal the containers. Then the boars would have to be released back without damaging or killing them – and avoid the alpha males who most likely will be getting furious at all this. Then the group would have to drive the wagons back through gates and return to Unterlion Cheeses. To get through the gates and avoid any problems, Lung will supply the party with passes dated for tonight.
We talked about it and agreed, saying that we would meet Lung @ Unterlion Cheeses tonight @ 11 PM. If we succeed in this, even though it is a 1 day job, it does fall under our purview as not only sell swords, but also caravan guards – which would reset our employment clock with the Third Reeve to 4 days and give us more of a chance to stay in Sorton. Plus it gives the group a chance to succeed in Avulstein’s need for boar blood from a living boar.
So we took the job, bid Lung a fond farewell, and then ate a fast dinner and set ourselves up for what we needed for the night. Avulstein went upstairs to study, maximizing the number of sleep spells we would have at our disposal (3 – if we needed them) while Einar went off the Vanil’s to purchase a length of tubing as a bleeding needle along with a couple of flasks and stoppers.
So it was about 10:30 PM and we were getting ourselves ready to head out to the Randari Quarter a bit early and do this job.
And I happened to like it. The party interviewed a criminal to get a "promise" out of him and became engaged in his plights and troubles - so much so that they actually went to his mother and took care of her. An orcish woman, laundering clothes from a tenement apartment in the ghetto section of a dwarven town, and having a rampant growth on her chest that everyone said will kill her in weeks or months and NO ONE would help or heal her. So the son turned to a life of crime (petty) to get enough funds to at least keep his mom in drink and the rent paid since medicine was out of reach and operating or curing it was not even a feasible option.
I liked it, it was an opportunity for the party to exercise the "good" portion of the alignment tree and no care so much about the Law/Chaos aspect of the axis.
Write up follows:
We walked from the Notary Offices near the Church of Frigga back to the Militia Holding cells and the gallows. We had hired Coriso, a half-orcish female notary and adherent of Frigga to pen down what we needed, noting that she talked about her job and what it meant to be a notary. The station of her office, her signature, and her seal on a document is binding and held up to truth and veracity – up to and including if need be, at an Ecclesiastic court should the matter be required.
At the Holding cells we had been remembered and one of the deputies spoke to the group about the two men that were to be hung by end of day today. One was a dwarven male named Vipolian who had been captured, tried, and found guilty for the assault and eventual death of two courtesans from the Randari Quarter. The other was a half-orcish male named Centius who had been caught stealing from his employer, assaulting a wagon driver, then sentenced for his outstanding debt from which he escaped servitude and was caught after sneaking back into the city.
We discussed the two men and decided to try and speak with Centius as we could most likely extract a promise from him. Einar was going to be the main speaker, hoping that the two Randari would have a better rapport than if one of the other party members tried to talk. We were instructed that we should hand nothing to the prisoner without getting it looked at first by the guard on duty and then his permission would or would not be granted.
While we waited in the small room, the half-orc was brought in. Centius was just a notch over 6’ tall, and had to weigh closer to 260 lbs. There was a simpleness about him as if he sort of had no idea how he ended up here. We talked to him for a while, Einar was the main point of contact, and learned that there is a not so subtle undercurrent between the dwarves (at least here in Sorton) and the orcish and half-orcish people. Not a hatred, but a racism that colors everything the two races do.
And Centius had no love for the dwarves. And the dwarves in the room had little respect for Centius. He admitted his crime, but it was fueled entire for his love for his mother. She had a growth that has been robbing her of life and getting bigger, on the left side of chest. When they tried to get it looked at after a number of hospices and healers had looked, culminating at the healers of Odin, it was stated that there was nothing that could be done for her and she was going to die.
And it would be in terrible pain.
Centius tried working but it wasn’t enough, the medication from the apothecists was terribly expensive and it came down to the fact that the cheapest thing for his mom was drinking low quality spirits – effectively getting so plastered the pain was able to be ignored.
Now that he was in jail and going to be hung today, there was no one to help or look after his mom. She had to have run out of spirits by now, and there wasn’t much food left, plus there was rent due and she was probably going to be kicked out of town where she’ll die on the road like an animal. In exchange for our help for his mom (whose name we had gotten out was Opseta), Centius gave his promise that he would do all he could for Einar and Avulstein in this life and the next. In fact, Centius went on to say that he was going to try and take one of the dwarven executioners off the gallows with him when he was hung later.
We had Coriso write down his promise, got permission from the guard for Centius to make his mark, and then had it notarized by the Friggan Adherent. Centius could not be any happier given the situation and we left him with the promise that we’d be back to see his hanging today at 4 PM.
It was a quarter to 12 when we left the jail and Coriso was disturbed by the entire exchange. She left and we had the written out promise in hand notarized and ready. We then were going to go back through the Central Gate and make our way to the Randari Quarter and eventually to the tenement houses that Opseta and Centius lived in.
On the way we were treated to the reverse racism and hostility that Einar had commented on a few days ago. Darius was unused to this amount of vitriol and ran afoul of some of the locals who then took it upon themselves to shadow the party as they made their way off main street and deeper into the Randari Quarter. They found the tenement housing in question, made their way up to the 3rd floor, and took the dimly lit hall to apartment “4”.
We knocked and were met at the door by a large and fat orcish female of advancing years. She was reeling slightly and holding onto what seemed to be a third massive tit under her left side. We identified ourselves, said we had spoken with Centius, and after getting her to believe we were on her side, were invited in. Even though the place was small and poor, it was clean and showed that someone who cared lived there.
Opseta was a laundress and until recently would do the laundry for her clients, Centius was her runner, going off to deliver and pick up her needed supplied and materials. She talked about the cancerous mass and the fact that it was killing her. She suspected she had about a month or two left and it was getting harder to move around. She bemoaned the soon to be death of her son and knew that her days were limited both alive and even in this apartment.
It was here that the group talked about her cancer, the costs to get it fixed (if even possible), and the cost of the drugs to help her deal with the pain. Einar and Negan were both anxious to help out (the druid more so), but eventually it turned to “what if we cut the lump out of you ourselves?”
What?
Negan was going to have to do it as the closest thing we had to a skilled healer, but with Avulstein’s help, Einar’s guidance during the operation, and Darius’ nimble and dexterous hands to keep the cancerous lump from flowing wildly about – we hoped to be able to give Opseta a much needed new lease on life. Being that she was a laundress, there were plenty of bleached towels and sheets already in the apartment. The party started the stove and set a pot to boil, filling it will tools and knives and tongs.
We talked about being able to do the operation and decided that we needed a scalpel and perhaps something to knock her out. There was a Randari apothecist a few blocks from here and Einar volunteered to go out and get the supplies. He left the apartment and when he got to the bottom floor was surprised to find a half-orc down there, one of the ones who had gotten into the verbal spat with Darius. The half-orc asked if Einar knew where “that guy” had gone off to. Not wanting to have Darius (or the rest of the party) deal with this, he gave the half-orc some line of bull that the guy had gone elsewhere and most likely was back in Slagbottom.
He made it to the Apothecist where the windows were small and barred and the door was locked. A smaller door was opened in the thick wood and an angry voice was asking Einar a bunch of questions before he had to prove he was a druid (disk and prayer to Frey) and then was let in. Once inside a hulking half-ogre with a massive heavy crossbow ordered him to turn around and put his hands on the door while he was briefly checked over and then allowed to approach the counter.
Vanil was the Half-orc apothecist and they had the system in place due to numerous robberies over the years. The place was pretty well stocked and Einar could see the 2nd floor landing had a herb garden growing up there. He explained what he was looking for and was eventually shown a silvered steel scalpel. It was expensive but when Vanil found out what it was for, he gave Einar a break on the morphine since the locals liked Opseta and thought that Centius had broken the law but was still a good son.
Once back in the apartment the group got together, administered Opseta 3 drops as we had been instructed by Vanil, and waited for her to pass out. We knew we had between 1 and 4 hours before she would wake up. Einar began the entire process by calling out some prayers to Frey and asking the god to guide Negan’s hands. Then Darius lifted the cancerous lump away, holding it like a ball, and Negan began cutting. We took our time and watched Opseta often. When it looked like her strength was flagging and her breathing was becoming painful or raspy, we stopped. Healing spells were called out often and Einar repeated his prayers to Frey to Guide Negan as the half-ogre laboriously cut away the entire mass.
Darius was forced to move and adjust his position often and we kept a careful eye on the amount of blood that was coating the linens, the table, and dripping to the floor. Einar had a sense for corrupted flesh and kept guiding Negan to make sure he got all the corrupted and cancerous growth out. It was over 2 hours before we had finished and the entire 20# mass was dropped into a honey bucket for disposal at another time.
We then cleaned up a bit while Negan stitched Opseta closed. It was a ragged and messy job but a healing spell afterwards at least accelerated some of the stitchwork and gave the orcish mother a better chance to pull through. We dropped a bit of bleach in the bowl with the mass and covered it with a bit of linen, brought Opseta to her bed and stayed with her until she awoke groggy and surprised to be alive. We told her that we’d check on her soon and that we wanted to go to the hanging to see Centius off.
As we left the tenement, keeping up Einar’s promises, we stopped at the Landlord, a surly looking half-orc named Teclius. We paid 6 months’ rent for Opseta which Teclius said was a waste since she’d be dead soon, everyone knew that. Einar got pissy and said, "Then fine, we’re paying rent on a dead woman’s apartment and she is entitled to stay there, even if she’s dead." Teclius took the money with a shrug and the group left.
We stopped back at the apothecist where Vanil made Einar do the entire wait, half-ogre checks him out thing (we learned the half-ogre’s name was Lummox – fitting) and was happy to hear that the operation was a success – at least so far. He then asked if we had the cancer and after finding out Vanil could use some of the strange growths and fluids within in a variety of experimental cures and distillates, Einar went BACK to the tenement, let himself into Opseta’s apartment, took the honey bucket and the key to the place, went out and LOCKED the door behind him, and then went down the streets and back to Vanil’s where Lummox once again threatened to shoot the half-orc in the nuts if he tried anything.
Vanil was thankful for the donation that he offered Einar either 3 healing draughts or a potion (he took the potion) in exchange and the two of them bid each other farewell. The party then hoofed it out of the Randari Quarter, along Grand Blvd, through Central Gate, and made it to the gallows and hanging grounds in Central Quarter with about 15 minutes to spare. We pushed our way to the front and waited. It wasn’t long before the hangman’s cart was wheeled out with Centius and a dwarf we guessed as Vipolian chained to it.
The crowd threw rocks and rotting vegetables at the two prisoners who were then brought to the gallows and set up on the blocks with nooses around their necks. The main gaoler read off the charges of the two men while Centius was happy to see us. We pantomimed that his mom was fine and he seemed energized and charged up. The dwarven guards had chained his hands behind him (not normally done) in response to his threats he had made earlier about taking one of the guards out with him so he’d go to Valhalla.
Then it was time, the snare drums were beat and then just as they stopped, Centius bulged his muscles and ripped his arms out – and the chains snapped! He pitched forward and grabbed the hood wearing dwarven executioner screaming “For Avulstein!! For Avulstein!!” as he said he was going to do. The floor opened beneath him and the two of them fell, the half-orc throttling the dwarf on the way down but his neck broke at the drop and he died, dropping the dwarf the rest of the way to the floor where he landed amidst the crowd cheering and gasping. As for Vipolian, he twitched and choked and sputtered for two minutes before he finally died at the end of the rope.
We were exhausted, and wanted to get back to the Pennywhistle and relax while we talked about the next 2 days we had in town and Avulstein’s 2 last things – boar’s blood and midnight water. On the way, we did detour by the Sifian Temple where Connal had a chance to talk with Adept Miragius. There was some consternation that the monastic had not returned for his entrance test to the Grim Gauntlets but it had been learned and passed on by Deathspeaker Parylis of Connal’s activities.
So he was given a bye. In fact he was invited to apply on the 30th only if and after the terms of Avulstein’s tasks had been completed; since it was known that Connal and the rest of the party were helping out and participating. Which made Avulstein’s success now directly important to him and Connal.
We went back to the Pennywhistle and started brainstorming ideas on how to get to the Terraces when we decided to approach Curd, the proprietor of the Pennywhistle and see if he could help us (for a price). He said he would ask around since the party had gathered some notoriety and there were those in town who didn’t exactly like the League.
It was about 5:30 or so when a swarthy looking half-orc and his two companions approached the group. Curd gave us a wave and nod, signaling that there callers were here at his ok so we sat and talked. They are the owner and supporting backers of Unterlion Cheeses, a pretty decent sized cheese shop and bakery on Grand Blvd in the Randari Quarter right by Central Gate. Lung Unter, the half-orc, has heard of the party’s plight and seems to commiserate with the group. Too long had the League of Odin pushed their agenda about town, and the fact that the party got into a fight with their members has tickled many of those who the League considers beneath them in the Slagbottom and Randari quarters.
Lung has a proposition for the group. Normally he’d go through the 2nd Reeve for this but there is a cost and stipend that truthfully he would like to avoid paying just once in his life. House Illytch has many smaller farms and livestock groups along the Terraces and once of them is managed by a cousin of Lung named Rupurt Halforc. He has let Lung know that all 12 of his boars have calfed piglets and are lactating. Something that rarely happens.
Lung wants to get all the boars milked one night and then bring the milk here to Unterlion Cheeses. He would need someone to drive the ponies and cart though the Central Gate, through the Upper Gate, and then through the Terrace gate, drive to the Terraces, arrive at the Polemark Farm and meet with Rupurt Halforc. Then the group would have to enter the fields and subdue and rope up the boars one at a time, bringing them to an area where Rupurt’s people (six of them) would milk the boars and then seal the containers. Then the boars would have to be released back without damaging or killing them – and avoid the alpha males who most likely will be getting furious at all this. Then the group would have to drive the wagons back through gates and return to Unterlion Cheeses. To get through the gates and avoid any problems, Lung will supply the party with passes dated for tonight.
We talked about it and agreed, saying that we would meet Lung @ Unterlion Cheeses tonight @ 11 PM. If we succeed in this, even though it is a 1 day job, it does fall under our purview as not only sell swords, but also caravan guards – which would reset our employment clock with the Third Reeve to 4 days and give us more of a chance to stay in Sorton. Plus it gives the group a chance to succeed in Avulstein’s need for boar blood from a living boar.
So we took the job, bid Lung a fond farewell, and then ate a fast dinner and set ourselves up for what we needed for the night. Avulstein went upstairs to study, maximizing the number of sleep spells we would have at our disposal (3 – if we needed them) while Einar went off the Vanil’s to purchase a length of tubing as a bleeding needle along with a couple of flasks and stoppers.
So it was about 10:30 PM and we were getting ourselves ready to head out to the Randari Quarter a bit early and do this job.
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