The Spirit of Spring - Chronological order of Events
Take a job to go kill a unique creature in Fir Lanear, what could go wrong? A lot more than being found out by the elves, it turns out.
The protagonists
| Current |
| Farley Brimstone |
| Marnab - Murrig - Fnippler |
| Sarnan Yaphiphe |
Fir Lanear
Back in Banak the Miforan transmuter Nytus Calaum was approached and asked if he could acquire the body of a very rare creature known as the Spirit of Spring (Tuveri Aessere in elvish). Research showed that every year exactly one of these creatures is born somewhere in Fir Lanear, though not from another of its kind. If they survive long enough they die on the winter solstice, only for another to be born on the spring equinox.
Finding and killing it would be anything but easy but the amount promised was enough for him to accept the job. After constructing an arrow of slaying and a special container that will allow for the creature’s remains to be preserved, he set about assembling a team, offering a thousand gold pieces to be divided among the team members. Eventually he found five capable people and with them he moved into Fir Lanear, trying to avoid detection by the elves.
We join them as they sit around a small campfire, next to Nytus there’s a halfelf ranger by the name of Maerlara Siannodel. There’s a cleric of Olidammara called Ishi Brendis, she’s from Dolac. Then there's two rock gnomes; an old evoker by the name of Farley and a young barbarian, her name is Marnab, or Murrig, Fnippler to friends. Finally, there's the 'skilled adventurer', Sarnan, a forest gnome who also has some magical capabilities.
“What are you going to do with your share of the money?” asks Ishi as she looks around the campfire, “I think I’ll go to Haza and party for months.” Nytus is going to poor it all into his many research projects and Maerlara is probably just going to add it to her stash, she has no real plans to spend it. Marnab is low on gear so she's planning on buying some. Sarnan explains that he'll use the money to make more money. Farley, meanwhile, comments that he'll save it for when he really needs it.
There's a lot more traveling and many more beautiful vistas and exotic creatures to be seen. This includes a giant tortoise of over a meter wide that Sarnan immediately jumps on top of and rides along with for a bit. Marnab goes to fill the wineskins but fails to notice a venomous snake in the vegetation near the water's edge. The snake manages to bite her four times before she finally hits it with her maul.
The party travels deeper into the interior, Nytus has a compass he enspelled to show the direction of the Spirit of Spring. Maerlara is right at home in the forest and under her guidance they make good progress, avoiding most dangers. After a number of days of traveling the terrain changes, the forest changing into jungle, the climate suddenly hot and wet as they descend.
Welcome to the Jungle
“This is the Anu Jangala, the Deep Jungle,” Maerlara explains, “a deep fissure in the earth where it’s much hotter than anywhere around. No elves live here and they don’t come here often. We need to be careful though, some of the most deadly creatures in Fir Lanear can be found here. Be wary of snakes in the branches, they like to drop onto prey.”
It is slower going now, having to often hack a path out in the dense and tangled vegetation. But when things open up the sights are stunning; large, green fronds covered in water droplets reflect all around, big, multi-hued birds with large beaks sit in branches and produce sounds not made by any other birds. Bright flowers bloom all around, producing a sweet, cloying perfume that hangs heavily in the air. The howls of unknown creatures echo through the trees.
Following the compass they come to a deep chasm about twenty meters across. The undergrowth was so thick and clinging to the side of the chasm that they almost fell right into it as they cut their way through. Marnap spot a bridge, the first sign of anyone having ever been here, it can just about be seen to the west so they decide to make their way over.
The wooden bridge shows all the signs of having been here for a long time but still looks sturdy enough. Ishi is the first one to make her way onto it, testing its robustness. After a few careful steps she starts jumping up and down on it enthusiastically. “See? It’s fine!” she exclaims. The bridge is indeed fine, but her jumping loosens the extra backpack with food and the special container that she is carrying and it falls onto the bridge, right at the edge, slowly sliding over it.
Sarnan quickly casts a mage hand spell to arrest its progress as Farley runs towards it. Marnab grabs one of her javelins and throws it unerringly in the open space between the backpack's carrying strap and backpack itself, stopping it from falling off the bridge. Continuing on they spot some zombies but decide to move around them, Sarnan is the only one who wants to fight them.
Two nights later as they are sitting around the campfire, Farley is the only one to notice that a monkey has grabbed the backpack with the container and is dragging it away. He gives chase and casts a sleep spell, dropping the primate instantly. They recover the backpack and Marnab wakes the monkey. It groggily sticks its tongue out at the barbarian and then runs off. Sarnan sees this and launches a fire bolt at the retreating simian.
He hits it easily but didn't take into account that the jungle is quite dry around here. The monkey is a charred little corpse but flames are now running up the lianas and setting two trees on fire to the dismay of the others. In the ensuing panic Farley grabs a pan and uses it to carry water from the nearby stream to the trees. Sarnan for his part casts a mage hand spell and ineffectually slaps at it. Marnab grabs an axe and starts to cut down the nearby trees. Eventually it is Nytus who grabs his only scroll of Sleet Storm and casts it to douse the fire.
Spring is in the Air
Finally they get close to their quarry, the compass indicating it is near now. Stealthily they make their way over and come to a clearing. At the opposite end there is a strange creature; it stands on its hind legs and is about 40 centimeters tall. It has ears like a hare and little horns growing on top of its head. Its eyes are not looking straight ahead but are somewhat to the side of its face.
Maerlara is drawing a bead on it with her bow, almost ready to fire. And then Sarnan casts a message spell at her; "remember, nock, draw, shoot!" Whether this slowed her down we'll never know but at this moment a huge creature crashes through the underbrush at the opposite end of the clearing. It is the size of a mammoth but looks like a cross between a bear and a panther, if at anything at all. It has a huge maw with teeth coming out, pointing to the sides. It swallows the unsuspecting Spirit of Spring with one gulp.
Nytus curses but then tells everyone that they should still be able to cut their quarry from the beast's stomach. The fight is on! Spells and weapon attacks are exchanged and unfortunately it turns out that the creature is quite resistant to fire and weapon. That's not to say it can't be hurt and it soon lopes away but not after having killed poor Maerlara.
The others bury her and Ishi says some nice words before they leave and track the creature using the compass again. After a short while they stumble upon sizeable ruins; a walled complex with a large ziggurat type building and some smaller ones. They walk along the wall looking for a way in when suddenly the creature comes bursting right through the wall, masonry flying everywhere, bowling Ishi, Nytus, and Farley right into the deep ravine behind them.
The gnome is lucky and manages to dive away from most of the blow and bounces down only to be entangled into some vegetation a few meters from the top. The other two quickly fall out of side. Marnab grabs a rope, ignoring the huge creature that's right there and throws it down to Farley. Sarnan decides to ignore it as well and uses mage hand to help push Farley back up.
This tactic of refusing to recognize the huge creature pays off; it bounds off towards the ziggurat. As the two gnomes are pulling the third one up, Nytus comes flying up from the ravine. He managed to cast a fly spell in time but unfortunately he couldn't save Ishi. But he did manage to hold onto the backpack with the special container.
A new plan is hatched and Farley casts an invisibility spell on Sarnan who then sneaks over to the monster and casts a color spray spell at it. Unfortunately not with the desired outcome and the beast bites and claws him severely. The others join the fray and Sarnan acrobatically jumps on the monster's back, hanging on for dear life. Marnab has been more than unlucky so far, none of her attacks have connected but finally, maybe it's divine intervention, she strikes the creature critically and kills it.
Everyone is catching their breath and Nytus takes a dagger and starts to cut open the creature, taking the remains of the Spirit of Spring and putting it into the container, casting a spell on it. As he gets up from his grisly task, behind him a blueish, spectral entity, looking somewhat elf-like, comes flying into the building and disappears inside the wizard's body.
Nytus' eyes turn into blue glowing orbs, his body quickly turns a grey pallor as a voice not his starts to speak. The language seems to be some kind of elvish but not of the type that Farley has learned. Still, the gnome can translate enough to get the gist; they are interlopers and the penalty is death. Nytus has been judged and found guilty. They are told to leave immediately or suffer the same fate.
With that, the creature that was once Nytus drops the backpack it is wearing and walks out of the building. Our friends decide to follow, though Sarnan tries using his mage hand spell to pry gems from the eye sockets of the few still intact statues still standing around. The others grab Nytus' backpack and the special container before leaving, seeing not-Nytus walk straight across the ravine.
Back We Go
With their quarry caught there's nothing left but to go back to Banak and find the buyer. Nytus never said who it was, but how hard could it be to find him or her? As they make camp at the end of the day, they finally have time to go through Nytus' backpack. In there they find more than just his clothes and sundries; there's also about 300 gp in gems and Nytus' Old Spellbook.
It turns out that without a ranger who knows the terrain well, the journey isn't as easy. It starts when after a few days they get close to a mantrap plant who uses spores to encourage Farley to walk right into it's waiting leaves. The poor wizard is almost dissolved by the plant's acid before the others manage to kill it.
Once out of the jungle they spot a white hart observing them from a distance and the next day they are surprised to suddenly find an elven woman in their midst; her clothes are covered in twigs and moss. She introduces herself as Muineth Tsornyl when asked and the party is anything but honest, claiming to be the children of Farley, traveling from Garios to Martell. Fortunately they are wearing their lying pants today and the woman believes them.
Before getting out Fir Lanear the local wildlife isn't done with them yet. A peryton dive bombs Sarnan, doing so much damage as to drop him to the floor. Fortunately the others can pour a healing potion into him and some spells and weapon attacks manage to finish it off before it can drop Farley as well.
Then at night a dark leopard pounces onto Farley who's standing guard. It manages to take the gnome out before he can sound the alarm. The stealthy predator is already dragging its quarry away before Marnab wakes up. She shouts and this wakes Sarnan who uses an minor illusion spell that stalls the big cat for a round. But then it attacks the rogue and brings him down with two bites. Fortunately the barbarian gets really angry and can easily trade blows with the leopard, even when attacking recklessly. She kills the creature and then saves the others in the nick of time.
Otteun
Martell Maneuvers in the Dark
Eventually the party makes it back to civilization, if the town of Martell can be classified as such. They take rooms at the upscale Howling Stag Inn and have a copious dinner. Afterwards they meet a short, young halfling man. He has quite chubby cheeks and an unruly mop of blond curls on his head. "Hi there, it's so good to see you again, friends!" he say and waves at them. "My name is Piduc, in case you forgot, many people seem to, it's so great you're here, I am in such a state. There are so many packages that need to be delivered before midnight, you'd help an old friend, right? I'll pay you for your troubles, of course."
No one in the party can quite remember the halfling but they are all convinced he's a friendly acquaintance so they follow him into his room. On the bed are five packages and an envelope. "These all need to go out, and, very important, they need to be delivered personally," Piduc explains as our friends take a look at the parcels. When they look around the halfling is gone already, undoubtedly out delivering already.
Farley thinks splitting up is the best strategy so he takes two packages, Marnab and Sarnan think it's probably best to stick together and take the other four. They are all addressed quite specifically and they go to the nearest location first. Unfortunately it turns out that Nindil Lisfit isn't home, his mother tells them that his friends took him out on the town before his wedding tomorrow. The trail leads to a tavern and then another but there the trail runs cold.
Meanwhile Farley has gone to the Munn Base, which turns out to be a brothel. And the addressee, Merelith Aerone, apparently works there. She comes highly recommended and since they aren't keen on letting him go up to deliver the parcel, he books half an hour with her for 5 gp, at 23:00 tonight.
Prison Mail
The other two have decided to try to deliver the envelope first, it's addressed to Jarkko Kirmod, in jail. The desk sergeant at the Ott building is less than helpful; there are no visiting hours and they are not allowed to deliver mail to prisoners. Back outside Sarnan decides to use a disguise self spell to look like an Ott sergeant.
He goes back inside but his story about being given orders to look around and learn the ropes, but not having them in writing, and even more so, his mixing up of army ranks has the desk sergeant very suspicious. He's invited to wait in a small anteroom but as soon as the sergeant leaves the arcane trickster sneaks out. Just in time too, footsteps are approaching.
More through luck than anything he comes across two privates who he manages to con into escorting him to jail. There the corporal is fine with bringing him to the prisoner to hand over a letter; it's less work than first asking for written orders and all that malarkey. A gasp can be heard from the cell as they walk back.
Unfortunately when Sarnan gets back to the entrance hall, it's filled with soldiers and he's recognized immediately. A quick sprint and jump through a window, with an obscene gesture thrown in as a flourish, he is back outside and manages to escape with just some cuts and bruises, and the patient Marnab who was waiting for him.
Delivery for the Donne
Farley has now arrived at the Wild Wind tavern, where according to the label one Ambra Tallat should be. Things get awkward pretty soon, it becomes apparent that she is likely some kind of crime boss and her people won't let some old gnome with a strange story go see her with a package he claims he doesn't know the content of.
The wizard who might have developed a death wish after his recent near death experiences in the wilds decides to cast a sleep spell on two of the mobsters, managing the drop one. The other grabs a dagger and cuts him before he can cast an invisibility spell. He then goes over to the door of a backroom he saw one of them glancing at and opens it. Beyond it he finds a rather nice office, not all matching the grimy tavern. Behind a desk sits a woman and Farley says: "Ambra Tallat, package for you." She gets up from her seat and grabs a short sword. The wizard quickly throws the package into a corner of the office.
When he turns back to the taproom he finds that the front door has been closed and some serious looking people with drawn weapons are now guarding the exit and searching the room. Things go even worse from there, the patrons are told to start throwing up the sand and straw on the floor to help find the invisible gnome.
Farley goes over to one of the side windows and inspects the bars on the outside; while they look decorative they are made of sturdy iron and bar any jumps through the window. His move was overheard by the woman who stabbed him earlier and she moves over and stabs into what looks like empty air to her; hitting the poor wizard again and turning him visible.
Soon enough he is tied up and brought into the office for interrogation, he's also searched and disarmed though they don't seem to even notice the other package he is carrying. The story about being approached by some halfling to deliver packages without even knowing what is in them is met with a lot of suspicion, and some punches as well. When Farley tries to lie about the other deliveries being in other towns he makes things even worse.
Fortunately for him, Ambra eventually decides to have a look at the package. There's a gasp of pleasant surprise coming from her but when she faces the gnome again she still is quite pissed off. "You are lucky the package contained what it did, if not, you'd be buried in the marsh outside of town now," she tells him. "I don't ever want to see you here again, are we clear? Leave town," with that he is frog marched outside by two goons and thrown out into the street, landing head first into some horse dung.
High Rollers and Low Voices
Marnab and Sarnan go to The Sarodin, a casino where one Merap Thione can be found for another delivery. They ask at the entrance and while they know Merap, he gambles here a lot, the member of staff they are speaking with hasn't seen him today. During some gambling they learn that there are high roller rooms on the second floor and that that is likely where Merap can be found.
Sarnan goes into the toilets and uses another disguise self spell; this time to change himself into a scantily clad waitress. He might have forgotten the spell doesn't change his voice. Still, he manages to bluff the bartender into putting some drinks on a tray for him. He then goes to collect Marnab and they go upstairs.
The floor manager here is good at her job and doesn't trust this new girl she has never seen before, even more so when she can't even answer who hired her. It is at this point that a commotion breaks out in one of the private lounges. Shouting, accusations of cheating, and the falling over of things can be heard. The arcane trickster quickly makes his way over, just in time to see someone leave through a back door.
Sarnan chases after the person who considering what is being said by the people in the room must be Merap. It's a tough start but when he hits his stride he surfs down the stair railings like a true acrobat. He eventually catches up to the man in the alley behind the casino where he is being apprehended by two security people. The gnome gives each a gold piece and asks them if he can get in a good hit on the man. They are fine with this and Sarnan then throws the package straight into Merap's face. Technically a very personal delivery.
Sick Moves
Next on the duo's list is Hille Olgrur, a Bruised But Not Broken guard posted outside one of the Thûrash warehouses. When they arrive there they find two other guards who tell them that Hille is in the alley to clean herself up, she'll be back in a few minutes. And indeed, the dwarven woman soon appears, still trying to clean the last bits of vomit from her armor.
The package is handed over and Sarnan can't help but comment on the fact that this was way too easy, shouldn't something bad happen to them right about now? He starts listing all the things that 'happened to him' this night, leaving out the fact that he was the instigator of most of these. The guard comments that maybe his bad luck transferred to her, muttering something about a stupid halfing.
It takes a moment before the copper piece drops but then they finally ask; "halfling? What halfling?" Hille explains that a group of revelers came by and one the halflings threw up all over her. Thinking this has to be Nindil's party, they ask in what direction they went and quickly set after them.
They come to an intersection and one gnome goes left, the other right. Sarnan moved into the poorer part of town and finds a tavern, the Flask and Trickster, but he is told not halflings have been in today. Marnab also finds a tavern and is told a group including some halflings was there about an hour ago. They meet back up at the intersection and Sarnan suggest just waiting at the Flask and Trickster, reasoning that if they haven't been there yet, they will visit at some point.
Marnab waits inside and has a few drinks while Sarnan climbs onto the flat roof of the place like a true second story artist, sitting there like a gargoyle. It's almost an hour but their patience is rewarded when the gnome hears and then sees a group of merrymakers come towards the tavern. He jumps from the roof and lands in a very cinematic pose, getting high marks from the imaginary jury.
"Nindil, we have a package for you!" he exclaims as he looks around the group. "Really? This is really my night!" answers a very drunk halfling. Marnab comes outside and he hands him said parcel. The groom-to-be opens it and goes "awwwww, oh man." Everyone, including our friends tell him not to leave them hanging and tell them what it is. Nindil explains that it's from the bride-to-be's sister. Choices, choices.
A very particular set of skills
Farley has managed to clean himself up a little and after a few drinks he makes his way back to Munn Base, arriving a little before the appointed hour. He is lead to a room containing a large four poster bed and many diaphanous curtains. Laying on the bed is Merelith Aerone, a beautiful half-elven woman. She welcomes the gnome heartily and asks what she can do for him tonight.
The wizard explains the whole package deal and hands her the parcel. She opens it and smiles, stating that "she really shouldn't have." Then she turns back to the gnome and tells him that they still have 29 minutes to do whatever he wants. Farley let's her know that he is too old for what she is suggesting but she tells him that she is quite skilled at many things, including conversation. But, if he wants, she is willing to refund him his money. In the end the gnome decides to stay and has a more than stimulating conversation, eventually leaving quite satisfied.
All three of our friends arrive back at the inn at the same time and they go to Piduc's room. He is not there, but on the bed is a note, telling them that he had so much to do he left already but thanking them for their help, which he has no doubt they did splendidly. Next to the note is a large sack that contains many large, gold coins. Farley takes one and bites into it, only to learn it's a chocolate coin. It seems the halfling paid them with ten pounds of chocolate money, worth around 30 gp.
Inn and Out
When returning to their own rooms they immediately notice they have been robbed of all belongings they left behind. And they aren't the only ones; more people on their floor were robbed. They go to complain to the innkeeper but also offer their services to find the culprits. A good night's rest comes first though; they'll start their investigation in the morning.
The innkeeper is (still?) there when they come downstairs and they are told all that he learned so far. Someone posing as a maid knocked on doors on their floor and asked anyone opening the door if they needed anything. But the description given, human, average height, brown hair and brown eyes, doesn't fit any of his staff.
Farley tells the guests having breakfast that they are on the case and to come see him if they have any important information. Unfortunately those who come by either just tell him what was stolen from them, which they already told the innkeeper as well, he is keeping a list, also at least one of those people is likely lying about what was stolen from them. The third person tells the wizard that he is sure he saw one of those dirty half-orcs, covered in tattoos, sneaking around.
Sarnan doesn't trust the innkeeper, thinking he might be behind the robberies, and with the help of an invisibility spell from Farley, he sneaks into the back office. There he manages to pick the locks to the desk drawers but he doesn't find anything incriminating.
Inquiry at the other inn in the street turns up much more of interest when Marnab tells about the robbery and asks if they were robbed as well. The innkeeper tells her they weren't robbed but that a man in a crimson red vest with lots of buckles came by and asked him if he was interested in paying a certain amount with the promise that his competition would suffer. The innkeeper ran him out the door.
Back at the Howling Stag they learn that a red vested gentleman had lunch there the day before and he was quite interested in the staff, asking them how they liked their jobs and about all the things they had to do. Sarnan suggests asking around the coarser part of town to find out more about this individual.
As luck would have it, a red vested man walks right into the street they are going down. They try to follow him and act casual, failing quite badly at the latter part. The man runs and disappears down a nearby alley. When the party reaches the alley they find a blind wall and two entrances, one to the cellar of a tavern and a side door to a leather worker.
They assume the tavern cellar is the most likely place the man fled to. Marnab walks around to the front entrance to enter the cellar from there in a pincer maneuver. Sarnan sneaks into the cellar after noisily opening the cellar doors. The moment he passes the dividing wall he sees three people who have clearly prepared for his arrival.
They immediately spring their ambush and a hold person spell paralyzes him immediately. This is followed up by a magic missile spell and then a halfling with two short swords and the knowledge how to use them. The gnome is on the floor before he has a chance to react, his lifeblood flowing out quite quickly. Farley then quickly comes into the cellar and uses his, by now, signature sleep spell to put the woman mage to sleep.
She is quickly woken again by the red vested man and combat rages on. Our friends aren't doing very well but when Marnab arrives and starts to rage things start to look up. A second sleep spell evens the odds and the red vested man decides to negotiate; there's no reason for anyone to die over what surely must be a misunderstanding, right?
Things are tense but eventually the others return the stolen goods, all of them. In leaving, Sarnan threatens them and promises to visit them in the night and slit their throats if they don't immediately leave town. But he realizes that this might have had another effect than he wanted; the other party looks to be considering a preemptive strike.
Our friends quickly return to the inn and deliver all the stolen goods to the guests. They are quite appreciative and pool some money as a reward. The innkeeper also tells them their stay is for free. Sarnan quickly visits the Ott building to deliver a note reporting the location of the thieves and the fact that they might be attacking the Howling Stag tonight.
Weirder Stuff
The innkeeper almost forgot; there is someone to see them, he’s waiting in a private room. He introduces himself as Heiner Garsunkel, a merchant from Rasstul and explains that his son, Rudi, has gone missing and he wants them to find him.
When asked for more details he tells them that his son went to the abandoned village of Adleren in the Ullen Vale. The vale is considered to be haunted by the locals and no one has lived there for centuries. But there was an earthquake recently that also included the valley. His son is interested in all kinds of 'weird magic' as his father tells it, and has gone there in the hopes of finding some.
It's been nearly a week now and he should have returned days ago. Heiner went to see a priest and their divination showed that Rudi was in peril and only has days to live, at most. It's more than a day to get to the valley from here. The merchant is willing to pay them a hundred gold pieces each and the party agrees to go find the man’s son. Heiner has also arranged horses for our friends and soon they are off to Ullen Vale.
Martell again
When they return Heiner Garsunkel is in tears to see his boy again, hugging him for a long time and thanking the party profusely. Eventually he remembers to pay our friends, Sarnan even asking for another 5 gp for the barber job, the man pays gladly. Marnab does take him aside and explains that very strange things happened and that she isn’t a hundred percent sure this is actually Rudi, she asks him to ask his son a question only he would know the answer to. This leads to some concern but Heiner does as asked, and Rudi knows the answer, the party deciding to leave things at that.
They leave town and the journey to Banak is without incident.
The Godfall
Betterment in Banak
The walls of the city come in to view long before you arrive at the gate. The guards ask for the reason of your visit but other than that you have no trouble entering the city. Once inside you immediately feel warmer as the wind has lessened considerably. You walk down Forgraic Avenue and come to Civic Square, dominated by the facade of the government building, the Palace of the Dukes of Lordraerra. A market is held here most days and hawkers are yelling at any prospective buyers about the quality of their wares. It is quite busy but most people don’t seem to be in any haste. Dwarves are definitely the most common but you see quite a few humans, a good number of halflings and half-orcs and a few gnomes. There’s a half-elf at one of the stalls (“clean your knife easily with my miracle cloth!”) and you see what must be a tiefling exit from Thovir Auction House.
The party takes rooms at the All Home Inn and decides on their next course of action. They have a container with the Spirit of Spring still to deliver. Alas, Nytus Calaum never revealed who exactly employed him, only referring to them as the client. Marnab decides to leave a note at Nytus' dwelling indicating that anyone looking for a certain spirit to come see them at the inn.
They all have experienced quite a bit and are looking to improve themselves in certain ways. Sarnan asks around if there are any circus artists or the like around and while Swiftfoot’s Supreme Soarers are not in town right now, most people tell him to go see Conur, "he has the moves". Apparently he can be found at the Cathedral of Bravery, Heironeous' temple. The party goes to see him and it turns out Conur Khourram is a half-orc paladin, and not only that, also a self declared Ishmêk super fan. He is more than willing to train Sarnan and show him some moves, if the party is willing to compete in the upcoming CCCCXXVIIII Banak Open; they are shy exactly one team.
Farley asks around for the smartest person in town. And while there are many wizards here in the city, one name that keeps coming up is Vindre Tassor, lector of Mathematics at Assuagion Academy. She turns out to be a pleasant human woman in her thirties with long red hair. She can tutor the mage, but her rates are substantive as she is quite in demand. She does suggest an alternative; the Companions of Elric can always use more help and if Farley (and his friends) help out in some way that would be a good compensation as far as she is concerned.
Marnab has rather more esoteric ideas and asks Conur Khourram if there is someone who could learn her anything about fighting spellcasters up close. The paladin suggests talking to Dectol Inka Galgurn, of Bruised But Not Broken. She finds the sergeant at Tharkathol, a dwarven woman of middling years with a mostly missing left ear and a wry sense of humor. She is always happy to see those interested in fighting mages and the like and can definitely train the gnome in her off duty hours. However, she was hired for a job and explains she can't do both it, and train the barbarian, but if Marnab is willing to take on the job then everyone will be happy. The job? A basilisk was spotted near Fussuluant and needs to be taken care of.
Basilisk Banishment
Clearly this job has priority because the creature might cause more casualties. Our friends decide to ask around town to see if anyone has any useful knowledge to share about these monsters. They go see the sage Ambrul Othul, who tells them it's not quite his specialty but he does have some things to share about it.
With this new information, Sarnan gets it into his head that a statue might make the perfect bait. He goes to visit the sculptor Parn Gemgiel in his atelier. But before going inside uses a disguise self spell to look like an upper crust kind of figure. He introduces himself as Bartholomew Goldhand and first attempts to buy any old statue the artist might have laying around. Said artist is anything but happy at this suggestion, declaring that he creates bespoke art pieces, modeled to specific people, not just any old statuary. Sarnan then throws oil on the fire by suggesting that he cheated on his wife and now promised her a statue of herself, couldn't Parn use something he has around as a basis for that? This incenses the poor dwarf even more.
The gnome leaves but as soon as he is outside, where Farley and Marnab are waiting, he uses another disguise self spell to turn himself into Marnab. Then he goes back inside and claims to be Bartholomew's wife, and very surprisingly pulls it off, managing to change his voice enough. But it soon becomes clear that the sculptor will take weeks to create any kind of statue and the party is planning on leaving in the morning. Sarnan leaves and drops the disguise as he is doing so, flipping them a finger as he walks out. He then hears feet running towards him and so he, and the other, make a quick getaway.
The next morning the party sets off for Fussuluant where they are met by a Kenku who's name sounds like shears cutting wool. He shows them the warren where the creature makes its lair and wishes them well. Sarnan places his pony in front of the entrance as bait and takes up a position to jump onto the basilisk's back, when it comes out.
The creature soon appears and things start out well, with Marnab hitting it with a thrown javelin. Then Sarnan casts a grease spell which makes the creature, which has no less than eight legs, immediately slip and fall. Then things start to go awry as they all try and keep their eyes shut to avoid being turned to stone. The disadvantage to this is that actually hitting the monster becomes a lot more tricky. Farley manages to cast a spell but the basilisk's gaze immediately starts to stiffen up his limbs, fortunately he recovers the next round.
The creature retreats into the cave and now the grease spell claims more victims, starting with Sarnan, and Marnab soon after. They follow it inside and the barbarian manages to do some good damage to it, but getting hit even harder in return. Farley manages to come through the grease without falling and there are more attacks exchanged with Sarnan also almost getting stoned. In the end Farley decides to take some distance to avoid the gaze and promptly slips in the greased area. But his scorching rays from there on the ground do finish off the creature.
Marnab has been quite hurt by the basilisk and decides to stay outside as the other two investigate the warren. Where they are surprised by two venomous cave snakes who drop on them from on high. They are defeated but only after doing some damage, Sarnan kills the last one by biting its head.
At the end of the warren is the actual lair and in there is a 'statue', it's a dwarf of stone, but only from the middle up, the rest is gone. Next to him is a backpack that contains mostly mundane items but does show that the owner is one Tortuk Ameath. At the bottom of the backpack they find a book; Deep Slumbers in Midtal, and a strange looking amulet. When Farley picks it up it identifies itself as the Third Sigil of Baltur.
They return to Fussuluant and inform Shears Cutting Wool that the job has been done and then return to Banak where they inform Tortuk's brother of his passing.
We all scream for Ishmêk
After about two weeks of intense training by Sarnan and Conur Khourram the CCCCXXVIIII Banak Open takes place and the party enters under the name The Team with Gnome Name. The draw places them up against a team of Nikanish members, three orcs. Before the match they have some time to talk and Sudniz, a bard, Dalyor, a wizard, and Vola, a ranger, seem quite nice people.
The arena is being built up in the Court of the Arts, the large Crocade dispensers already in place for thirsty players and victory celebrations. Sponsorship banners are being hung; there's Unter Drinks; Otteun’s favorite brandies. Another banner proclaims: "Because everyone deserves their own personal bulb; Milo Shrim’s Non-Fungible Turnips." There's ads for D-Mobile; the best coverage for any crib. And of course many ads for BMW; Buy More Wool. Paid for by the Association of Godfall Wool Merchants.
The match is quite a crowd-pleaser with lots of spells being cast; grease and sleep feature quite a lot. It even gets physical with the team even trying to play dirty at some points. Injuries seem unavoidable and eventually Farley can't go on and has to sit the match out and see his team suffer defeat valiantly.
Spirited Away
There is a knock at the door of their room at the inn and outside stands someone in a large cloak with a cowl deep over their head. They are about human size and speak with a deep voice, inquiring about Nytus Calaum. When told that the wizard died he asks about the spirit that he sent the wizard out the get. The party shows him the container that holds the remains of the creature and the cloaked individual seems pretty impressed with the vessel.
However, he tells them that he had an agreement with the late wizard and not with the party, so he doesn't feel like he needs to pay them. Immediately after informing them thusly he casts a spell and disappears. Farley and Sarnan rush to windows to see if they appeared outside but don't see any cowled figures. The rogue then rushes downstairs but the person isn't there either. Marnab hardly cares at this point.
Road Trip
A few days later a note arrives for Farley. Lector Vindre Tassor sends word that there is a job for him, he should go to the Companions HQ and they'll give him the details. He does so and is told that he (and his friends) are to accompany a wagon on a delivery run. At their destination there will be someone who can use the wizard's help. The journey should be around five days to get there and the same back, they will probably spend a few days at the location. They leave tomorrow, right after dawn.
When Farley returns with the news, Marnab goes to do some shopping while Sarnan waits till after midnight to go pay the sculptor Parn Gemgiel's atelier a visit. He easily opens the lock on the back gate and goes inside, using paint he bought to paint mustaches and penises on all the statues. He then empties a bag of ball bearings all over the place. He leaves a note before going back to the inn; "With love, Bartholomew Goldhand".
The next morning they are introduced to the wagon master; Baldrumlin Addar, a friendly dwarf. They follow the road towards Zâram-Tûm and then for the final part of the journey they go north, there is no road but the wagon master seems to know where he is going. They come to an escarpment and Baldrumlin walks over to an old tree, making the sound of a whippoorwill three times.
A few minutes later there’s a sound and part of the rock façade turns to mud and sloughs away, leaving a tunnel. From it steps a very exotic looking woman, she’s quite attractive, with delicate features, but it’s unclear what exactly she is, she’s neither human nor elf though she is about that height, most remarkable is the color of her skin, which is a pale green hue, her eyes are a soft yellow, and her hair has a golden sheen.
“Welcome,” she says as she approaches, “it's very nice to meet you all, I'm glad you could be here at short notice,” she tells them and then turns around and walks back into the tunnel. She explains they can leave the wagon and the horses here, they will be safe and they can go check on them at any time during the day.
Coming through the other side of the tunnel reveals a hidden paradise of sorts. A hollow in the escarpment of about five hundred yards on each side holds verdant fields not seen anywhere in the Godfall, apart from around the Silvalhuese River. Many different vegetables and grains are growing in small plots, each looking better than the last, and quite a few out of season. There are softly swaying stalks of ripe grains, carrots so orange they almost make your eyes hurt, strawberries looking too succulent to be real, and so many more.
Further to the back grow all kinds of herbs around a rustic cottage that wouldn’t look out of place in a Miforan village. A small brook babbles as it winds its way around the area and then disappears under the rock and in one corner is a small meadow with at its center a large tree brimming with fruit of different colors. It feels nice and warm here, much more so than on the other side of the tunnel.
“Please come inside,” says the mysterious woman and she makes her way to the cottage. “I’m Kore,” she states when they reach the cottage and she ushers them into the large kitchen and has them sit around the table, “would any of you like anything to eat or drink?” After taking care of refreshments and a minimum of small talk she comes to the point.
"I understand that you are not from around here, and that is for the best, I hope you will keep this place a secret, as well everything I am about to tell you," she tells them, looking at Farley. "I have recently come into possession of a book from Baltur of old, unfortunately my command of the ancient language leaves something to be desired. But understand you can cast a comprehend languages spell, I would like you to help me translate the book," she explains.
Over the next days they do just that. It turns out the book is a treatise on realm spanning environmental magic; spells that can change the weather and even the very rock and soil for hundreds of miles, magic much more powerful than the kind seen today. The next few days are quite pleasant with great food at every meal. The journey back with a wagon full of supplies is without any trouble apart from a pack of death dogs who are fortunately twarted by a bag of ball bearings.
Job Hopping
Companion P.I.
After delivering the wagon at the Companions of Elric HQ and saying goodbye to Baldrumlin Addar they are called back inside; there might be a job for them. They are introduced to Dorna Hukhol who thanks them for their work so far and then lets her assistant Idriane Grimhard, a serious human woman of middling age brief them.
She then explains that a human man by the name of Ornar Ballik arrived in town this afternoon. He bears investigating and they want the party to find out why he is here. They know that he took a room at the Sapphire Chalice inn and have a general description of the man; brown hair, medium height, dressed in common traveling clothing, small gold ring in his left ear. The job will pay 5 gp per day, and 25 gp for any actionable intel.
Marnab goes directly to the inn and takes a room there (#106). The other two first go buy a climbing kit and when they arrive at the Sapphire Chalice, Sarnan goes around the back to try and get some information out of the staff. However, they immediately get off on the wrong foot and things go from bad to worse, with the gnome casting a color spray spell, quickly going through the pockets of one of them and then booking it. Knowing he can't show his face there, he takes a room at the Staggering Jester.
Marnab is eating dinner at this point, keeping an out for this Ornar Ballik character but he is not there. Farley also books a room (#204) and bribes the girl at the desk with 2 gold pieces to learn that the man booked room #101. Then the wizard goes to the restaurant as well, taking a different table. Sarnan returns and uses a disguise self spell to look like Farley's grandchild and joins him at his table. Many plans are hatched but none get acted upon. Eventually all three meet outside and decide that next morning they will try and follow the man when/if he leaves and that will be a good time for Sarnan to search the room.
All three get up around five in the morning and try to spend their time being as unremarkable as possible. There are quite some inward groans when the man only appears around ten in the morning and goes to the front desk to ask for directions to a tavern for some breakfast. Farley follows him there and pretends to be shopping as the man eats and watches people go by.
Marnab overheard the conversation in the lobby and informs Sarnan of this a little later, before going to the tavern, sitting down a further up the street. The rogue uses disguise self again to book a room (#201) and then picks the lock on Ornar Ballik's room without even breaking a sweat. He doesn't find much out of the ordinary at first, just regular travel supplies and clothes. But a thorough search of the room finds that the man created a neat hiding space that contains a book of letters for the Godfall and a forgery kit. Sarnan puts the stuff he picked from the staff member's pocket the other day in the backpack and leaves, taking the book.
Meanwhile, Ornar Ballik spends about an hour at the tavern and then leaves, asking directions to go somewhere. Farley and Marnab follow, trying their best not to be detected. Eventually they end up in a street near the Water Worx where the man enters an apartment building. Half an hour later he comes outside and asks for directions again, eventually ending up at an office; Lordraerra Lease. He goes inside but is back out again in about five minutes.
He then walks down Forgraic Avenue and comes to Civic Square where he takes a light lunch at a tavern next to the market. Farley and Marnab are still on his trail and see him go inside Thovir Auction House. They follow him outside, almost getting bowled over by a half-elven man who is leaving the building in quite a hurry.
There is an estate sale going on today and they go and have a look at all the lots. Once the auction starts Marnab is a little too enthusiastic pretending to be a bidder and buys a 24-piece set of glazed earthenware dishware. Ornar Ballik bids on a small painting; “Study of the Heath at Night” by an unknown artist. It's not very remarkable and the bidding starts at ten gold pieces. Farley keeps bidding against the man until the human finally outbids him with 22 gp.
Their quarry pays for the painting and is handed it, neatly wrapped, and he then goes back to the Sapphire Chalice inn, followed by our friends, of course.