Another Night in the Strange Quarter

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About the Saga

The adventurers continue their investigation of the troubles in Darkdweomer End, and welcome the help of Kerth Greenfield, a favored soul of Pelor.

Timeframe

Cast of Characters

Notable Quotes

No quotes are available.

What Has Come Before

No adventure summary available.

The Saga

Harvester 15, CY 591

The Black Quill

Corash heads to the Obsidian Bay Library, where he sees a notice for an research assistant with a knowledge of elven and a working knowledge of alchemy, with a mage named Maurgiir, who is staying at The Black Quill, an inn that caters to the wizardly class in the city.

Finally meets the mage, who wears old, weathered clothes, who’s face is badly bleached on the right side. Man asks what languages he speaks, specifically interested in ancient elven dialects. Corash admits to not knowing that tongue; mage gives him a language test – asks him to decipher script inside of a strange crystal.

Reads passage detailing the final battle between the elves of light and dark, in which the Wind Dukes of Aqua threw down the ancestors of the drow. Maurgiir demands that the elf be at his beck and call, and explains that he can instruct him in the ways of wizardry, specifically summoning skills. Asks him to go investigate the elder elves at the library.

The Wandering Pelorite

Leaves the dock, having traveled by ship from Hardby. Wanders the Dock District, browsing small shops, looking for information about the city, and is surprised to learn that the entrance to the city is so closely guarded. Also learns that there is indeed a temple of Pelor in the city from a mackerel jerky vendor.

Heads to the Sea Gate, where he's grilled by a guard, who explains that he will need to sign in, pay a 5 sp fee and report back to the gate every day with his whereabouts. But if a cleric from the temple vouches for him, the requirements may be lessened. Attempts to enter city with horse, explained that he must pay another 4 sp for the draft animal surcharge.

Finally manages to get past them, and enter the city proper. Makes his way to the Temple of Pelor, and meets with an acolyte, who takes him to meet the seneschal, Sir Peldonius Trueshield. An older man, balding but with over-large, greying porkchop sideburns. Explains that he is a former Tenhite himself. Kerth says that he is seeking his place in the world, and that Pelor has guided him to this place … though he does not know why. Also explains he is not a true cleric; able to cast spells, but never passed the formal test. Peldonius recognizes that the man before him is a favored soul. Starts working on an endorsement for him, explaining he will arrange for Kerth to report to the Merchants Gate once a week rather than the Sea Gate every day. Also agrees to let him stay in a small cell next to the Pelorite hospital.

Back at the Library

Corash returns to the library, where he learns of elves tried to reach something the Far Realm using powerful arcane magics and psionics. But when they opened the gate, a malevolent intelligence greated them and tried to come through. They were able to repel it and closed the portal … but a connection remained. It is possible, their philosophers argued, that the connection remained because this malign intelligence was aware of our reality … and that alone was enough to maintain a connection

Returns to his master, and explains what he has learned. Master accepts this, sends him off. Thom catches the elf up on the happenings, explaining what they encountered. Go to see Vargas' master, Saheed and tell them what they discovered. He's not able to identify the tattoo the creatures had, but identifies the creatures themselves as dark stalkers. Decide that they will head into the sewers the next morning and explore the sewers where the dark creepers were found.

Leaving, they are confronted by a thin, tall man with shaved head, big earing, and strange clothes, along with a ritually scarred face. Wielding a heavy pick, made out of bronze, looking like a giant birdbeak. Two others with him are mixed race, roguish looking humans. Demands to know where Largo is … Thom and Corash try and bluff them into thinking the halfling died fighting a gibbering mouther in the sewers, but they don't believe him. "We could have done this the easy way, now we'll need to do it the hard way.

Melee breaks out. Thom begins telling a tale of how heroic forces of Pelor smited the unbelieving hordes, while Kerth suddenly begins to glow with a great light. Corash summons a ball of fire, which rolls at one of the rouges, but proves ineffectual. The scarred man keys up on Thom, dropping him with a hit from his pike, and the others are badly hurt fending off the other blows.

Then, just in time, they here a man shout "same to you, you stupid whores!" and stumble out into the street. It's Salsar, wearing his newly crafted skulls and spike armor. He shouts, demanding that the ambushers leave his friends alone. The leader of the thugs charges Salsar, and the two begin exchanging blows, with the mercenary finally crushing his opponent.

Meanwhile, one of the thugs takes out Corash, who crumples to the ground, but Kerth quickly heals him. The mage directs his flaming sphere to attack another of the thugs, burning him badly. Kerth, shielded by sanctuary spell he'd cast, tries to move to aid Thom, but the remaining thug manages to overcome his magic and drop him. Salsar charges, killing one of the thugs, as the other runs away. At the end of the day, one of the thugs was dead, one ran, and their leader was unconscious.

Corash and Salsar wake him up by splashing water on the leader. Corash demands to know his identity; he says he's Hakimbe, and works for Otambe Jackson in Blue, and that Jackson is looking for Largo. Hakimbe says that the one who got away would bring help to fight them, and kill them.

Corash, after contemplating simply dropping the unconscious Thom and Kerth off at their respective inns, but thinks better of it and takes them to the Temple of Pelor, where the mage is harassed for bringing drunken companions here for healing. After being healed, Corash goes back to the Black Quill to rest, while Kerth, Thom and Salsar head to Fire-eaters.

Corash's master announces that he's found a strange neoalchemical substance that glows slightly when exposed to light.

Meanwhile, Thom plays his lute for dinner, making enough to cover his room and board.

Harvester 16, 591

Next morning head out, meeting up with Vargas outside of his master's building. Venture back into the sewers, returning to the location of the gibbering mouther. Find small vined planets growing from the remains. Thom takes a sample, thinking it might be a variant pumpkin plant. Also realize that the gibbering mouther was probably the thing that attacked the herb shop.

Speculate that the jack-o-lantern headed scarecrow might be connected to the pumpkin patches, and then head out into the sewers trying to find others. Headback to the scene of their last fight. Arriving there, hear the sounds of growing things. See bodies overrun with vines, then see a humanoid, oddly moving, standing over vines. See that the humanoid is some sort of plant creature with a pumpkin head. Party waits to see what it does, sees it feeding on the heads of the fallen. As the party approaches, the creature rises up turning his head towards them, its eyes lighting, and a fearful aura washes over them. It then waves its hands, and a cloud of fog and mist emanates from it. Thom and Vargas are badly shaken by this. Thom begins to tell a thrilling tale of how the Blackrazors defeated the orcwort, and is then startled to see the scarecrow emerge from the fog, giant sickle in hand.

Vargas hits it with a ray of frost, followed by a burst of flame from Corash's flaming sphere and a barrage of magic missiles. Creature steps back, shooting a black ray at Kerth, missing him, then turns and vomits on Thom, causing him to fall into a spreading puddle of pumpkin guts. It then shoots another black ray at Kerth, causing him to suddenly become badly sickened. It then moves away, into the wall of fog it had summoned earlier.

Thom and Corash go into the fog, and the bard finds the creature, who pummels him. The creature then glows menacingly, Thom panicks, drops his mw dagger, and runs screaming. He deftly avoids Corash, only to trip and fall in vines, screaming all the while.

Meanwhile Corash tries to face it, but is blasted by a spell that causes his flesh to ripple and shrivel, blackening as it does so. Corash realizes that the effect is a vile spell known as "shrivel" -- dark magic indeed. Meanwhile, the creature flees into the darkness, while still screams in terror. Corash and Kerth subdue the bard, then Corash takes one of Thom's torches, and starts burning the mutant pumpkin plans. Finds that the skulls of some creatures have been caved in by plants, and new seedlings are growing there. Kerth heals everyone, while Corash goes and burns everything else.

Thom argues that we should not follow the creature, and instead flee to the surface to get help.

Experience & Loot

  • Corash: 550
  • Thom: 550
  • Kerth: 550
  • Salsar: 225
  • Vargas: 0
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