Meet 81, Adv 5, 4/13/19

The group had a very successful trip back into the dungeon this go round. Focus driven - slime room and leave. There was LOTS of real world figuring it out and I had them up from the table for almost 20 minutes showing me EXACTLY what they were doing.

So it's a win, but they are again loosing more than gaining - no treasure, material and items being used up, armor and weapons breaking down - and right now no treasure yet to replenish what they are spending. They need a longer trip in and that is the focus of their next foray - to get the Brass Chime to summon the steps no matter what time of day.

Write up follows:

It was 7:35 when we arrived at the Entrance to the Terror Dungeon where we were met with the chronicler Kara and the 2 guards. We made sure our name was entered and was assured that another adventuring group, Fishers and Farmers, had gone in earlier today and by our estimation were at Entrance 2.

After the doors were opened we went down with care, Dizzy and Sybil in the front, Connal and Hjalgrim following, then Peris and Percy, and finally Negan and Gryg taking up the rear. At the main entrance room we could see the slowburn torch on the eat wall was getting low and we heard NO noises from any of the doors. We went back over the map Darius had given us and were aiming for a storage room past the hall with the floating table in it where supposedly the slime in question was located.

We proceeded with care, Gryg once again propping up lengths of wood on the doors behind us to hopefully alert us of anyone’s presence following. When we arrived at the room with the zombies, bodies, and couches, it was obvious that something had happened here as the door was blocked by a large dead body with many blunt force marks about its head. Beyond and further into the room more bodies were strewn about.

We went in with care, Dizzy calling on Sif to assure him that no undead barred our way. Of the 16 odd bodies in here, more than half were dragged off the couches and left upon the floor. The vermin in the room were loud but gave us a wide berth. We continued past, Percy lighting a candle with Tyr’s light and in due time, made our way further into the Dungeon.

The short hall with the slowburn torch was next and then eventually the room with the floating table. We slowed down here and looked around the corner. Where once there had been a single ogre keeping guard, now there was nothing. Sybil thought she heard the door at the far end of the hallway close and that spurred the group on to press on.

At the door to the trophy room, Dizzy and Sybil let the group know the door was not trapped – but was LOCKED and from the inside! Listening revealed only faint breathing and nothing else. In wait? For us? Sybil, Dizzy, Connal and Hjalgrim made their way further down the hall, Peris and Percy staying near the corner, and Negan and Gryg remaining in the room with the floating table for now.

Peris cast a “stick” spell on an arrow and placed that on the door to the trophy room, a last ditch chance to alert us should something try to come out. At the end of the hall Dizzy listened and could hear fair shuffling beyond. He took a rope and tied it from that door back 16’ down the hall to another door handle, effectively stopping both doors from opening. As for the room with the slime, with slow measured care, Connal shifted that door about ¼ open and we were able to see. It was 20’x20’, and there was a line of salt on the floor past the swing of the door from wall to wall, blocking off the entrance corner of the chamber. Lumpy greenish slime shot through with sickly red veins was affixed on the floors, lower walls, and stone shelves of the room.

If Sybil drew too close to the slime, it seemed to rise out of itself and send fingers slowly questing towards her before retracting if she moved away. Taking her allotment of salt, she reached further into the room and drew a second longer arcing line of salt, cordoning off more of the entrance section from the slime.

From there, she drew out her metal tongs and a glass flask. Using a few drops of pig’s blood in the vial as a lure, she placed it near the slime, stretching into the room while Connal stood behind her ready to pull her back if need be. The slime stretch out towards the vial and then entered. When she had a small amount within, she turned her tongs, rolling the slime over the metal and spinning off a small section from the larger amount. Her tongs were beginning to smoke and she pulled the vial back until it was between both of the salt lines. She then turned the tongs over entirely and placed the vial on the floor mouth end down, hoping it would trap the slime within.

Instead it spilled out slowly and made a puddle on the floor about 8’ in diameter. Her tongs no longer useful, she tossed them into the room and the group then thought about how they were going to lay Hjalgrim backwards into the slime puddle.

Upon further thinking it through, they realized it would bring them TOO close to the larger slimes inside the room which were agitated by our presence. Connal tried tossing salt at it and it seemed to make the slime grow frenetic as tendril shot out violently almost 3’ before the slime seemed to slough a bit off the wall and then try to climb the surface again.

At this point a new plan was hatched. Taking one of the older K’Morat javelins, Connal dripped some pig’s blood on it and then dipped it into the slime on the floor while Percy helped Hjalgrim remove his armor, gambeson, and underwear to reveal the “Crackling” afflicted area. As the slime was growing on the javelin he brought it close to Hjalgrim’s back and PUSHED. The pain was terrible and Hjalgrim arced in agony as the slime hit the Crackled area, spread out, and was absorbed – turning to speckled dust.

His back? Still afflicted but less.

Peris moved closer to the group and now realizing they were too far back, Negan and Gryg moved up to the corner near the closed trophy room and watched alternately the party and Hjalgrim and the hall they had come from.

Reintroducing more pig’s blood to the javelin Connal carefully gathered another larger dosing of slime from the puddle on the floor. He did note that a large patch (some 3’ around) had broken off from the rest of the slime in the room and was crawling up the wall at a tangential angle, bypassing the salt on the floor and oozing slowly towards the hallway. Problem for later.

The second dosing of slime was brought to Hjalgrim and PUSHED again. And AGAIN the dwarven cavalier bucked in pain but the slime MOSTLY turned to dust, his skin flaked off to normal, and then it was over! With slime on his back, Percy shoved the lit torch against it, burning the patch away and singing the dwarf a bit – but the Crackling was now gone. Some healing was cast, taking care of the most obvious wounds followed up by a folded length of bandage wrapped about the cavalier’s midsection.

Hjalgrim was just…touched. He was so thankful to the group and appreciative that everyone felt just a bit better.

And it was at this point that Negan and Gryg both realized that there was an odd click or something coming from the hall they had come from…and the light from the candles was now gone. Plus, the smell of rotten eggs was growing stronger and the two of them were suddenly unsure. Gryg looked forward, creeping up and saw two ogre sized shield bearing figures coming closer from the opposite hall of the table room.

Company, and now. As the dwarven ranger came back, the half-ogre cleric called on Odin to produce flame in his hand. A ball of fire the size of a volleyball appeared in his palm and began to spark blue fire and he whipped it away and deep into the room.

And the dungeon seemed to implode. Air rushed TOWARDS the room and then LIT, and then a concussive blast raced AWAY from the room along with a wall of fire. At the last moment Negan slammed his large shield down between Gryg and the fire, hugging the dwarf close and the wall of fire hit the corner and blew the two of them off their feet and back. The shield absorbed most of the blow, crackling apart and raining burning brands everywhere while his armor snapped upon impact and caught flame.

The fire continued down, most of its impetus stolen but it was still enough to drop Peris on his ass and burn the form of the elven sorcerer. As the group was trying to figure out what was going on, from the table room we heard an Ogrish voice shout out, “GET THEM!” followed by pounding feet. From the trophy room, the door tore open and two ogres each with 14# mattocks strode into the hallway and laid into Negan who was still on the floor and struggling to his feet. Gryg fired his crossbow and Sybil let bullet fly. Percy and Hjalgrim quickly started relacing the chainmail hauberk back in place while Dizzy tried to get down the hall to heal Negan as the Half-ogre finally rose to his feet and met clubs with great sword.

From around the corner we could see the upended floating table being used as a barrier as the ogres behind it maneuvered it into the hall and prepared to rush down. Peris let fly two magic missiles and Connal enticed a large swath of Slime onto his javelin by literally stabbing himself in the leg and then shoving it at the wall patch of slime.

Negan took another smash to the head and Gryg dodged blows from the furious ogre while more sling bullets and magic missiles when flying. Dizzy managed to get a much needed heal on Negan who was staggering down to single digit hit points and then we heard voices at the END of the hall trying to rip open the door that we had tied shut!

Connal charged down the hall and told the group to DUCK and everyone did, including the ogre Negan was fighting, and the green slime coated javelin flew out and slammed point first into the table being used as a barrier – transferring slime to it!

Hjalgrim finally dressed charged down the hall spear and shield at the ready and took front line with Negan. The cavalier plied weapons hard on the ogre already weakened by bullets and bolts, driving his spear up under its ribcage after 30 solid seconds of furious combat, killing the monstrous foe. Bless spells hit the party and our blows fell with more accuracy as we struggled.

With the ogre line slipping down one and Negan doing terrible damage to the other one, the three ogres in the back, one dropped the table on its face (burying the slime beneath it) and with its own two handed sword, two more of them marched forward to do battle while the last lifted its crossbow and fired, shooting into our tightly packed group. The last poorly armed ogre fell as the battle line closed to the two armored ones and the fight was a chaotic mess. From the closed door behind us we could hear goblin voices chanting, dozens and dozens of them as the door thrashed and bounced and the rope began to fray

Gryg lost a shot at one point, driving it into Hjalgrim’s back, mortally wounding the cavalier who redoubled his efforts against the ogre before him. Negan was once again horribly wounded and was beginning to bleed terribly as his hit point total plummeted. Using the rest of Connal’s rope we went back to the roped off door and tied a second length again between the two doors, giving us another precious handful of minutes.

Another ogre died and the one with the crossbow shot into our ranks as the table in front of him grew softer, and eventually succumbed to the slime which was consuming it – and then the dead ogres on the floor around it! Deciding it was time to leave, he turned and ran back around the corner while more magic missiles and sling bullets helped finish off the last ogre.

Hjalgrim was staggering, Negan had perhaps 1/10th of his health, goblin horde was breaking into the door at the hall’s end, and there was now a 12’ swath of green slime on the floor between us and the way out. Connal took Gryg’s hammer axe and smashed the green slime door down, pulling it away and bringing it to Negan who took aim and threw it into the middle of the 13’ puddle of slime. We then tossed two of our folded up bedrolls on top of the lime and using the entire thing like a bridge, the entire group ran and jumped their way across the mess until we arrived at the other side and then dodged into the trophy room. A well places ray of frost rolled the slime away from us as we ran in and then shut the door behind us.

Percy and Dizzy managed to pull the bolt out of Hjalgrim’s back and get him a healing. The cavalier was going to power through it but he was mortally wounded and would need some rest when this was all over. More healing was dispensed on Negan and the rest of the party and we took stock of our situation.

We didn’t want to stay. At all.

So after 5 minutes we cracked open the door and then ignoring the now 16’ puddle of slime in the hall and the door at the end of the hall the goblins were forcing open, we made a run for it, charging out of the room and back towards the now burned out room where the table once was. No ogre was here but we kept going. At the zombie room we could hear suddenly MUCH louder goblin voices in the hall behind us, indicative that they had forced the door open. We moved double time into the hall, through the zombie chamber, and then down the long hall.

We paused briefly at the door to the entrance room and once sure it was not filled with ANYONE, we made our way to the stairs and up fast until was arrived at the top and at 9:33 on Spiritmonth the 9th, emerged back out of the Terror Dungeon and safely once more in Bork Keep.

Meet 80, Adv 5, 4/6/19

The group spent this meeting following the clues which had them running back to Erylond and then again to Paxian and finally Bork Keep. The "solution" involves going into the Terror Dungeon and gives the party an opportunity to adjust the makeup accordingly and try the delve again. Their mission is focused on a particular locale and destination and then leave - but that remains to be seen if it'll be the play of it.

Write up follows:

It took us a few minutes to ready ourselves for the trip back to Erylond from Paxian, the bad news about Hjalgrim weighing heavily on the cavalier’s mind. The decision was to go back to the Wizard-Lord Shandrila, present her with the stoneware jug, and then ask her if she know of the Freyleaf Astringent and possibly a way to ameliorate its effects.

We decided that we would force march our way westward, trusting to the night, our strength of arms, and the purpose of our trip to keep us safe. We left Paxian through the main gate, passed through Slopover, and then made our way to the main Trade road where we espied one of King Seljack’s mounted knights sleeping on the side of the muddy roadbed using his horse’s stomach as a pillow.

By a quarter after 6 we were out of Canaslan and moving at a ground eating lope westward. This late in the day we say few travelers until almost 8 when a 3 cart caravan coming our direction on its way to Canaslan reported the road behind them was clear all the way to Erylond save for a Thorpe to the north of the road where some villagers were have a local festival. We both passed without issue and by quarter to 10, passed the merriment making village as we had expected.

We trouped on, growing more and more tired and weary as we travelled, the miles passing behind us until we eventually saw the lights of Eylond in the distance and we arrived at the East Gate by 11:15. The guards passed us in and we stayed along the main road along southwall until we managed to come to the Mages’ District on the east end of town. We went to the Tower of Winds, expecting to leave message that we’d like audience in the morning when we were informed that Wizard-Lord Shandrila is currently up and often stays awake for days at a time. Yes, she would see us now.

We dropped weapons and were made welcome once again at her study on the third floor where Shandrila met with us. We gave her the jug, she checked the seal, checked the contents, and declared herself happy with the matter. She asked as to Thimbles and his wares and then we turned to Hjalgrim and his affliction on his back. She looked it over and gave Hjalgrim a pitying look.

The “Crackling” is indeed fatal – faster is a multiple or concentrated dosage does get upon one’s skin. Freyleaf is not grown anywhere near here, instead it appears in an area between here and Asgard referred to as Freystag – a sort of pocket garden where the lord of nature grows wondrous things and tries them out to see if they can be incorporated here in Midgard. Freyleaf is harvested there (often without Lord Frey’s knowledge or consent) and then it is rendered down, dried, pulverized, and reconstituted under exacting parameters to become the Astringent – the entire process taking the better part of a half year.

As for cures, there is none – its job is to dry out spores, molds, slimes, and fungi – anything without a skin. We asked about gelatinous creatures and she said to a lesser degree – gelatinous creatures such as cubes have a membranous skin and is not the best. She did suggest that if a slime or ooze of sufficient mobility and virulence were placed upon the Crackling area, it should be enough to cease its spread and end the affliction – but this was educated conjecture at best.

Does she have any slime, or do we know anyone who does? The long answer? No, that sort of stuff is highly dangerous and typically needs a dark wet area to grow and thrive. A few crazy people in the past have tried to transport and sell it but the damage done was astronomical and 11 of the nearest 15 cities have such types of slimes and oozes declared as illegal to have, own, buy, or sell.

We thanked her and left, heading north to the Livestock district where we took a pair of room at workman’s tavern called the “Fox and Hen.” Ok, Does Thimbles have green slime? Trip back to Paxian. Terror Dungeon? Maybe it’s there, that’s a day to the east. The group remembered seeing some at a lake near the Base Camp in the Moratian Mountain passed Sorton – 6 SOLID days to the west. And no guarantee it was still there.

According to Shandrila, it was maybe 4 or 5 days of spreading Crackling as it works its way further across the person’s skin and then 5 or 6 days of terrible agony and it continues to consume them outside and works its way deeper into their body and then death. Hjalgrim thanked the group for their efforts and we decided to send some aviaries out tomorrow. One to Thimbles in Paxian to see if he had any and green slime and if so, get it ready for us. One to Connal @ Bork Keep and ask him to let us know if the group had found any green slime and where to go and get it – reply to us in Paxian if need be. And Hjalgrim wanted one to be sent back to Sorton to the Temple of Tyr there – because he was under the impression according to his vision at the time of his knighting that he had a “purpose” and was not supposed to be this close to death. The entire situation had shaken the cavalier and he was much more tractable and understanding to the group.

We slept and Dizzy might have gone out to ask his contact at the Stinky Cat if they had any avenues on where to get green slime from before coming back and the group getting to sleep. We decided not to eat hear and instead went further south to a restaurant called “Salted Toys” where we ate our full and were back on the road by 9ish going east to Paxian. Hjalgrim had sent off the 3 avians earlier and we hoped to arrive in Canaslan with some good news waiting.

It wasn’t.

He had none on hand and only a small number in the time in the past had he ever had an opportunity to get some. Of all the adventuring groups, only the Unseen Hand, run by a dwarf named Walt Grimbeard, ever had the green slime to sell, and it was a few small vials that he transported in enchanted glassware to withstand blows. How much? Thimbles had paid at one point as much as 20 crowns for a vial but its only if he has a market and buyer for it because it’s terribly dangerous to store and transport and illegal as hell.

Hjalgrim helped pay for Thimbles to write to Walt in Erylond (we assumed) if he would know WHERE to find green slime in the Terror Dungeon and if so, forward that info to the group there as soon as possible.

We then pressed on to Bork Keep – arriving there just after 8 PM that night. We got to meeting from the outriders, informed of what was required of us, and then met with the locals in the Keep and directed to the Visitor Halls where we saw our companions were actually in the Terror Dungeon at this time. We looked into the aviary where we received OUR note addressed to Connal and Thalin…wrote a missive to Pha-iyr Carom that we DID have King Seljack’s signature on the Letters of Credit and we got sidetracked in order to help a hurt companion.

We had an opportunity to then meet with Lord Corface Bork, learn about the group’s efforts so far, and then rested.

It was Spiritmonth the 9th in the morning when the Vanguards of Ragnarok were all together again. We all shared our experiences over the last 4 or 5 days with each other. The decision was that half the party head back to Erylond with the two Letters of Credit and the other half go into the Terror Dungeon armed with Darius’ map in order to find the room we suspected had the green slime in it. Avulstein was belligerent and commented often that he had survived death twice and for now was NOT going back into that fucking hellhole. He had some nasty words with Dizzy and Hjalgrim who called him out for not paying him back for the cavalier laying out HIS share of the Terror Dungeon Amulet.

We decided that Hjalgrim, Percy, Negan, Sybil, Gryg, Peris, Dizzy, and Connal would be going back into the Terror Dungeon for the third time after 7:30 this evening to take care of Hjalgrim’s back. We made some purchases, moved some equipment around, and after resting the day and adjusting our spells, were ready to go to the Terror Dungeon again.

Meet 79, Adv 5, 3/30/19

The original write up for this portion of the adventure was to have a random person in the party have the planted vial placed upon them. However, we've had some shifting at the table and the player running Hjalgrim is away from our group for the time being. I am not sure what his long term viability for the taciturn dwarven cavalier was to be, but I found him to be grating to the rest of the group. So since I have taken him for now as quasi-NPC/DM's character, having him be the recipient of the Crackling seemed best as it gives me a chance to role play a serious character change into his story - ie: he is GOING to die.

Something that he has been strangely unaware of until this day.

Write up follows:

We decided to stick around the Black District a bit longer and then made our way back to the Bawdy Wench Tavern. Once there Dizzy made a brief contact with the local guild personages there to get some information on King Seljack and Barb took a more prosaic approach and hit up the bartender with a hefty bribe.

Between the two of them they got some information and we discussed their findings. When King Seljack got the Sovereign Stone there were two other hirelings in the party – an assassin woman who joined him as his King’s Thief and personal bodyguard (we met her standing behind the king at the meeting today) and a wizard of some skill who was struck and cursed with a permanent invisibility. He’s taken to becoming King Seljack’s fixer and spymaster – but he has become strange over time and taken to not wearing clothes, personally spying on those he needs to instead of relying on spells.

He can become visible but only when he polymorphs himself into something else.

The Fox and the Henhouse is directly owned by King Seljack and the wizard has the place under surveillance should need be. The Bawdy Wench pays a stipend to King Seljack based upon volume of business and the king’s wizard tends to shy away from scrying unless need be. Just to be safe, we bounced from the 2nd floor to the 3rd, taking a room there. And we also learned that the wizard can easier scry on someone if he has a small token, personal, to them.

So we sat and ate and surreptitiously checked everyone over to see if anything was missing. It was later in the dinner that Thalin and Shim both noticed that one of Percy’s beard fetishes was missing a charm – something small and personal to him. Thalin escorted him upstairs to the 3rd floor where there seemed to be a serious number of plants in the hall – 2 on the right hall, 2 on the left, and 3 by the stairs. The majority of the plants were fichus, but the three by the steps were a transplanted juniper bush and 2 other smaller white dusted ground plants.

After getting Percy in the room, Thalin fired off a light spell on a coin wandered by the plants, gave it a piercing look, and then dropped the coin by the plant before walking away. When he turned back the juniper plant was gone and the window at the end of the hall had opened and someone was out there excited about his luck at finding a glowing magic coin.

Closing the door he informed Percy of the missing fetish and the dwarven priest was worried. Was he part of the King now watching the group? Should he stay behind? The thought was to be honest in our dealings and not give the King any reason to be concerned about us or our doings.

Meanwhile down in the Common Room, a guy came in with his friends, clutching a red glowing copper common and declaring it was a lucky magic coin and he needed to play darts again with that guy who beat him last week – triple stakes. The party left the Common Room and made their way upstairs where we saw two small white dusted ground clearance plants in pots outside our room.

As we were entering, Barb got pissy and moved the plant, pinching one of the leaves real hard to break it. The plant suddenly yowled in her hand, and BIT her, turning into a large tabby cat who then clawed the hell out of the barbarian before running down the hall and leaping out the window. The 2nd plant did the same, another cat. Inside the room Percy felt horrible for the cause of this and healed Barb of her injuries while we discussed the invisible wizard and then eventually fell asleep.

We awoke on the next day the 7th, knowing we were checking out today, where we were going to walk around town for a bit before meeting King Seljack for lunch @ 12. While touring the western ends of town, near a series of malters, we were stopped by a group of 5 green clad elven folk who were doing surveys. They were representative from Greenmourning, and the Emerald Queen Nylwire and they were wondering about the beers we had drunk and what flavors we liked. Greenmourning was looking to set up trade with Canaslan but wanted to send only what the people would want to drink and taste – not what the vendors were willing to purchase.

We answered as best as we could and then made our way to Castle Whitehall. The King had a meal set up for us and we ate and talked for a while, discussing our past adventures, killing kobolds, and things we had done and seen in our past. Eventually he decided the group was well meaning enough and wanted to have a better relation with Erylond and Pha-iyr Carom so signed off on the two letters of Credit and returned one to the party to take back to Erylond. We left on good terms and decided to head off to the Black District and get our required delivery package from Thimbles and the Canaslan Export Company.

There were 4 larger style companies in the district and Thimble’s organization seemed to be about the same as the others. He had 9 people working the warehouse and about a dozen shopping the wares. We went back to an office in the rear of the building where a human with leather pants and sword was waiting but Thimbles had him sit down and express this was all ok. As we were entering, it was noted that 2 people left the selling floor after watching our party, and headed out the door.

He is an acquirer and is always in the market for anything interesting that comes out of the Terror Dungeon or other places that he can turn a profit on. King Seljack has an intense hatred from below the board smuggling and thievery – as long as it’s known and he can get a piece of the action, he’s ok with the operations. The blood of the crested dracomen was in a stoneware jug, corked, covered, and wax sealed. We took property of it, signed off on the manifest that we had done so and then asked him to keep it here. He refused saying it was not his job but agreed to warehouse it for 30 bits until tomorrow.

We left, pushing our way through the crowded selling floor and eventually back to the open air. We went to the Bawdy Wench and was going to stay one more day, leaving on the morning. Arranging a room we went to the Common Room and ate a hearty lunch, listening to the minstrels ply the crowd. It was closer to 3:30/4 ish when there was some drunken brawl going on behind us. Barb thought she recognized one of the guys when he was shoved hard and hit Hjalgrim, bowling the cavalier forward.

He had his arm pressed tight against Hjalgrim’s back, partially inside the backpack and seemed to be fumbling about. As the group got up and it was about to get ugly, the man’s companion gave him a full on body check, smashing him into Hjalgrim’s back and then he pulled away, grimacing in pain and holding his hand cradled to his chest as the two of them made a mad dash for the exit.

We were going to follow when Hjalgrim started complaining about his back hurting and we quickly took a look. Something was broken in his backpack, the back of his backpack was dried and cracked looking, and his shirt was damp. We went up to the room and took a look. There was a spot on his back about 5” in diameter that looked like dried cracked flakey skin, the flesh below was angry and red. He was complaining that it hurt and a fast Cure spell fired into him..but nothing happened to the wound – it stayed.

We also tried a restoration, again no difference. Whatever happened, something broken against his back OR inside his backpack and the other guy was responsible for it. But why? We looked through his back pack and although a few things looked messed up, it was all still there. However, there was a broken small vial/ampule in there, the label affixed to broken glass read “Freyleaf Astringent”.

No one knew what that was and the back of the label showed that it came from the Canaslan Export company – Thimbles organization. Maybe he would know what was going on? As for Hjalgrim, we even tried putting on a layer of bear grease but it only caused the cracked looking skin to spread, giving the cavalier a bit more pain for his efforts.

It was almost 5 when we came back to the Black District and Thimbles business where we found his people pointing and shouting at each other and Thimbles angrily telling the group ,”no refunds – you paid for a full day.” He didn’t have much time to talk to the group, seems someone robbed his place earlier today and his staff were frantically pointing fingers.

Shit.

We asked if it was Freyleaf Astringent and he grew cold, telling us to come in and tell him everything. Turns out the Astringent was stolen earlier today, around the time we were in the shop. The belief was one of the “shoppers” planted it in one of our backpacks “Hjalgrim” with the assumption they would retrieve it later far from the Black District. During the altercation at the Bawdy Wench it broke and covered the thief’s hand and Hjalgrim’s back through the pack.

It is used to rapidly dry the flesh of various oozes, slimes, and molds in the preparation of crafting components and inks. And it is expensive – that little ampule was 900 nobles, money that Thimbles was out. He did know it was not supposed to get on anyone’s skin ever and if it does happen, the person will die in horrible agony in about 2 weeks – nothing to be done for it.

Hjalgrim asked, “So, I’m going to die?!” Yep – nothing for it. And you’re going to die in agonizing pain.

The group was stunned. Surely SOMEONE knew something that could be done? Thimbles didn’t know anyone but suggested the party try Erylond as they might have some luck there.

So we took the jug of blood and decided to brave the 7 to 8 hour trek to Erylond now, leaving Paxian @ 5:30 and won’t arrive back @ Erylond until maybe 2 in the morning.