Morality Play
About the Saga
After an uninspiring trip to Castle Greyhawk, the Blackrazors take a breather.
Timeframe
- Greyhawk Date: Harvester 25 CY 587
- Real World Date: 10/19/1998
- Read other Blackrazor Guild Sagas
Cast of Characters
Notable Quotes
- None.
What Has Come Before
The Blackrazors have returned from Castle Greyhawk and are in the process of training themselves for their next mission. This adventure takes place in Harvester C.Y. 587, after a day of training but before the Blackrazors journeyed to Hardby.
The Saga
Harvester 25 CY 587
A Night Out
It had been a hard day of training and Yogesh, Demetry and Gaiseric needed a good night of drinking and tale-telling to forget about their bruises. So on the 25th of Harvester, CY 587, they headed out into the River District of Greyhawk intent on finding a good pub – instead they found a fight.
The Streets of Greyhawk
As they navigated one of the district’s claustrophobic streets they saw two nasty looking thugs approaching a well-dressed merchantman on the other side of the street. Before the thugs acted before the Blackrazors good do anything. Moving next to the merchant, the two men forced the third into an alley way. Hearing a feeble cry from the businessman, Demetry dodged and fought his way through the street’s thick crowds.
As he arrived at the alley’s entrance, he saw the body of the merchant slump to the floor as the two thugs ran. The cavalier heaved his mace at the nearer of the two thieves. The weapon wobbled unevenly through the air, but found its mark. The thug slumped to the ground. Yogesh and Gaiseric ran past Demetry while the cavalier bent down to examine the body of the merchant. As Gaiseric pinned the fallen and unconscious thief to the ground, while Yogesh ran out into the street looking for the man’s partner. Yogesh wove his way through the crowd, but the thief was too good and managed to duck out of site.
The Temple of Trithereon
Back in the alley Demetry was relieved to know that the merchant wasn’t dead. Yogesh rejoined him and Gaiseric, and the three men pondered their options. The temple of Pholtus was nearby, but the thought of going there for assistance turned Demetry’s stomach. The temple of his own god, Trithereon, was farther away, but the ground there was far more palatable.
Once there, Demetry met two acolytes. They instantly recognized him as a pupil of Kalib Ironfist, venerable Blackrazor and a high-ranking member of the Church. "What is wrong sir?" one of them asked.
"This poor merchant was attacked by this thief" Demetry said, pointing at the unconscious form being held by Yogesh. "I knocked this one down with my mace, but we couldn’t get the other."
The acolytes – sensing an errand of vengeance -- eagerly admitted the cavalier and his fellow Blackrazors. Gaiseric, knowing how the church felt about thieves...
Inside the temple, the acolytes led Demetry, Yogesh and their prisoner to the temple’s interrogation chambers. Outside one of the subterranean rooms, the acolytes talked with one of the more senior priests about Demetry’s prisoner. They waved Demetry and the prisoner into the room with instructions to interrogate the man … and to be prepared for a critique of his technique.
The Merchant
Upstairs, Yogesh talked with the merchant, who had been healed and awakened by the church’s priests. . "My name is Warsin O’lear. Thank you and your friends for saving my life," he said. "We don’t have scum like this in the Furyundy, although we’ve got thieves up in the north, sure enough. Damn bastards steal our taxes to fund their war. Their Great Northern Crusade. Nonsense…"
Yogesh said nothing.
"And they stole my rubies. Damn their eyes!"
"How many rubies?" the bard asked.
"Four of them – one large, the others smaller."
Yogesh thanked the man for the information, asked Gaiseric to follow him, and went downstairs to the interrogation rooms.
=Interrogation
"Do you want this easy or hard?" Demetry asked. The prisoner was chained to the wall and spite filled his eyes.
"I’m no rat," the thief said and spit at him.
Demetry paused, said a prayer to Trithereon, and then slapped the man with the back of his fist.
"What is your name?"
The thief spit again.
Demetry went outside and demanded two buckets – one of hot water, another of cold. When they arrived, he throw the hot water at the man, and then followed up with the cold. He cursed at Demetry, but didn’t budge. Demetry shook his head, and decided to change tactics.
Interrogation, Redux
When Gaiseric opened the door, he didn’t recognize the man hanging upside down on the wall. Not because of Demetry’s interrogation tactics, but because he wasn’t a member of the city’s thieves guild. The would-be thief looked like he was an outsider, probably one from the remains of the Bandit Kingdoms looking for an easy mark.
"Ah come on man, this is supposed to be a city of thieves!" the man on the wall moaned. "Cut a man a break!"
Demetry didn’t. Instead he punched the man in the gut.
"Urgh!" the thief shouted. Then he sighed deeply. "Name’s Jast."
"And your friend?" Demetry asked.
"The Roc and Oliphant."
"What?"
"Roc and Oliphant. That’s where Erque went."
Demetry paused. "You better get act together or going to be a long night."
"You wanted to know where he – where my partner -- went right? Well…" he paused, realizing that he was saying to much. "Well, maybe he was at the Copper Dragon. Or the River Rat or … "
Demetry punched him again.
"Look man, what else do you want to know?"
"Who were you working for?"
"No one."
Another blow.
"Really, no one – we saw him and thought he’d bee an easy mark."
And with that, Demetry was satisfied. He turned to Gaiseric and Yogesh. "The Roc and Oliphant?" he asked.
"It’s a bar down by the college," Yogesh replied. The city hadn’t existed in his time, but bars were bars, and he’d made the rounds of Greyhawk’s within a week of entering the city.
As they left, the priests applauded respectfully. "Excellent work," the more senior of the clerics said. "No permanent marks and the water was a very nice touch." Beaming, the cavalier led his friends out of the church, and toward the bar.
The Roc and Oliphant
The Roc and Oliphant had a reputation as being one of the prime drinking locations for the city’s young students. That night, it lived up to its reputation. Students from the nearby schools filled it, and no one took notice of Gaiseric or the disguised Yogesh. The two men walked up to the bar and asked if anyone had been flashing rubies around the bar.
"Yeah, some guy came in here an hour ago and tried to buy stuff with a huge rock. I said forget it, and he paid with a gold piece instead. He’s in the back now, sulking and drinking wine."
Gaiseric thanked him, and placed a gold piece on the bar to pay for his drinks. He and Yogesh walked to the back, found the thief and cornered him.
"What do you want?" the man asked, staring around the bar as though looking for someone – any one – other than the men standing in front of him.
"We’re business men and we’re interested in your kind of business."
The young thief was suddenly scared.
He reached into his belt and pulled out two small rubies and placed them on the table. He looked away. "Go away ok?"
"We just want to know who gave you the mark. Huh? Who told you to go after the ruby man?"
The man was suddenly even more scared. "Look, we just picked him out of the crowd. Random street crime, you know?"
Gaiseric was about to ask another question when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a quiet voice in his ear. Gaiseric, thank you for your assistance in showing this one the error of his ways."
The thief turned and saw the man who’s hand was on his shoulder. He didn’t know the individual’s name, but he did know he was one of the Thieves’ Guild’s enforcers. "We will handle this from now on," the man said, his voice rising just above a whisper.
Gaiseric couldn’t disagree.
Thieves' Justice
Arriving back at the Temple of Trithereon, the three Blackrazors learned that Erque – the other thief – had been set free minus the index and ring fingers on his right hand. Demetry agreed with the punishment for thievery whole-heartedly while Yogesh and Gaiseric only flexed their fingers.
Two days later, while the Blackrazors trained for their expedition, the bodies of Erque and Jast washed ashore down by the wharf.
Experience & Loot
- No experience and/or loot is available for this saga.
