The Wager - Chronological order of Events
Who will wager what, when woes weaken weary wanderers.
The protagonists
| Dieter Albrecht von Mündelheim |
| Guydust |
| Husk |
| Wallace Linnaeus |
Dolac
Three journeys
This is how our four friends ended up in the capital of Dolac; Avale.
Wallace Linnaeus
Wallace starts his journey to Avale following the Fiumare river. On the way he ran into a band of Nikanish who were trying to protect a tribe of bullywugs and the druid was asked if he wanted to help and he does. Later his camp was overrun by zombies but he managed to get away with all of his belongings.
Then a town happened to be visited by a bunch Kashtin revelers when Wallace arrived and this lead to some very hedonistic days. Journeying on alone was quite the contrast but the beautiful landscapes made up for it especially the Sevso Sound. From there it took a number of bridges to the islands in the Tal delta and a ferry to get across and make it to Avale where he finds an inn, the Plucked Pheasant, in the Cegir Town neighborhood.
The city is huge and there is much to see. Wallace starts by getting a shave at Hair Me Out. Next he buys a mince mop from a street vendor. While walking and eating he nearly collides with a square-jawed, blond-haired man that steps out of an outhouse, dusting down his clothes, mumbling to himself.
A few days later in Downpark he passes by the Pursue Hickory bank and comes to a square where an expensively dressed gentleman is tending to a vagrant, pouring a potion down his throat which seems to make him feel a lot better.
During another exploration of the city, this time in the North of Grove Way neighborhood, also known as NoGWay, Wallace is lured into alley, where he is surrounded by four assailants. Things look bleak, this is an unwinnable fight and flight will also be difficult. But then an unassuming woman, short, with a cleft chin, and her dark hair in a knot, appears, and the four robbers run, saving him from an ignoble fate. The woman gives him a smile and leaves. There is no sign of her when the druid makes it back out on to the street.
The next day posters are being put up all over town saying the Admiralty is looking for able bodied men and women for an expedition of a few weeks. The pay is no less than 4 gp per day; more than enough to get Wallace to sign up.
Dieter Albrecht von Mündelheim
Starting out from Zâram-Tûm, Dieter’s journey to Banak is uneventful. But his next stretch to Martell is a different story. The caravan he was traveling with, promptly got attacked near the border with Otteun, but fortunately they managed to fight off the robbers, Dieter showing off his skill with his zweihänder to all around. Midtal was an interesting experience, he made a little money when someone asked about his perfectly tailored clothes and showed off his other skills.
Avale seemed the best possible next destination and the landsknecht took passage on a river barge. The slow journey down the river gave plenty of time to focus on certain things he had been ignoring and to get to know his fellow travelers. At one village stop, Dieter helped out one of his new friends when he was cheated on in a game of Three-Dragon Ante, managing to recover all the money.
The barge arrived at Avale disembarking everyone in Kalehaven. Two of his fellow passengers knew of a good inn in the Longsee neighborhood; The Boer Inn. And so he joined them and walked there, taking a room on the third floor. It cost a little extra but the view of the Tal estuary is worth it. The first thing he sees is a short man with a white mustache, wearing a small hat catch a girl who picked a dwarf’s pocket. He hands the money over to the victim and then takes a piece of pastry from his pocket and gives it to the child before letting her go.
The nearby fish shop, For Cod’s Sake, introduced him to all kinds of new food and then he was told about another place that he just had to go visit. Following directions he went to the Oakhurst neighborhood, where on Falanae Avenue he passed by Elassidil Villa, headquarters of Thal Lithel. At the intersection with Korb Street, a boy on crutches was brusquely told by a man in a carriage to get his ass in there. And then when the conveyance drove away he saw it; the Feywild Shroomhouse.
The next day posters are being put up all over town saying the Admiralty is looking for able bodied men and women for an expedition of a few weeks. The pay is no less than 4 gp per day; more than enough to get Dieter to sign up.
Husk & Guydust
After quite some adventures on Threepwood Isle the duo arrive at the docks in Avale. New to the city, they find an inn in the Proviso Place neighborhood. From there they start to explore the city and one evening when coming to a road in Gill Gardens they startle a man and a woman in an intimate embrace. She hides her head behind the man as they leave. A minute later Husk and Guydust almost gets trampled by a horde of girls all yelling and chasing after a man with salt and pepper hair.
The next day posters are being put up all over town saying the Admiralty is looking for able bodied men and women for an expedition of a few weeks. The pay is no less than 4 gp per day; more than enough to get both of them to sign up.
Sarodin Sea
Those signing up weren't told much and that's because it turns out to be a pirate hunting mission. A flotilla lead by the Whiskered Admiral is going to search for a small pirate fleet that was spotted not too far away. The navy is sending four ships; the Prince Willim, a 1st charter ship, two 2nd charter ships, the Ranhem and the Crowned Griffon, and a 3rd charter ship, the Arms of Dolac.
It's early in the morning and those shanghaied wake up feeling the worse for wear, it smells of sweat and sick, there are many conversations around. Some rays of sunshine penetrate the murk, the floor beneath them is moving in all directions. People are getting up from the floor and soon a hatch opens, the sunlight suddenly very bright, and some people come down a ladder.
Standing next to the ladder are a balding halfling, he looks to be in charge, a dwarf with a short beard, a half-elf, she has a rather big nose and her hair is dyed black, quite badly. Further there’s a gnome, her face looks to be sliding down her skull, and a large half-orc, with blonde dyed hair.
The halfling speaks: “I am Bosun Miller and you are on board the majestic Crowned Griffon, the best ship in the entire navy, run expertly by Captain Drumpf and Quartermaster Onel.” At the mention of the last name some people involuntarily scrunch their noses, he apparently has quite the musk. Miller continues: “We are on a mission to take out a pirate fleet and make sure these murderers, rapists, and drug dealers will never make it to our homeland.”
“Now, most of you might not be here voluntarily but you are finally going to do something worthwhile with your lives and get paid really well for it,” he tells the crowd. “Until we get anywhere near the pirates you will be assisting with the running of the ship, Chief Mate Luktnicks here will further explain.”
The dwarf looks around, “you will be doing grunt work even a wet goblin can do, complain or shirk and you will be going overboard, try your luck with the sharks. You might have noticed your weapons and armor are missing. We don’t want any accidental stabbings or other fights, get in one and you’ll get intimately familiar with the cat o' nine tails as wielded by Karoline here,” he motions towards the half-orc. She scowls as she looks around and rumbles “leave it”.
“You’ll get your weaponry back when we near the pirates, you can even put on your armor then, if you are fool enough to want to drown with it. Until then you report to the second mate, Juliana,” he points at the half-elf, “or the third mate, Kristi,” he motions towards the gnome.
Our four friends are selected by third mate Kristi to help with pulling the sails when there is need to, she puts a sailor in charge of them. The four introduce themselves to each other and discuss the mission they have now been given. During their weeks in town they heard lots of stories any time they were in a tavern, or really anywhere a lot of people gather and gossip. It's definitely possible they heard stories about other people with the same name or looks, but this is what they all think they heard about their new friends. It might all be just poppycock of course!
Wallace learned the following: Guydust has a smoking hot sister; twice as easy on the eyes and dangerous in all the right places. She wants to be a mighty pirate queen. He heard the following about Husk: “That chip he carries? Cursed. If he ever cashes it in, someone dies. Or five people. Depends who you ask.” Dieter is said to have deserted the army.
Dieter heard these stories: “Husk used to be some kind of performer, proper fancy stages, not the tavern kind. Someone said he lost his voice for a while. Couldn’t sing a note. Came back different.” Guydust was once in deep trouble; chained and tossed into the ocean. It's said he only survived by stubbornly holding his breath for over five minutes. Wallace has been called "somewhat demented" by people.
Husk heard the following rumors: Guydust has a terrible nemesis; an undying pirate captain. Even though that fearsome "Leslough" has been slain thrice or more, he keeps coming back for vengeance. As a zombie, a ghost, once even as a haunted carnival attraction. Dieter used to run a tailor's shop with his father. And he learned that Wallace was the strange man heard shouting at the ???.
Guydust learned the following: “Husk once pulled a man out of the canal after a bad bet went worse. Didn’t want thanks, just muttered, ‘No one deserves to lose everything in one night.’ Sounded like he knew.” Wallace is supposed to be some kind of doctor. And Dieter's sword is supposedly larger than the man himself.
The next morning our friends wake, and while they might still feel sea sick, their recent experiences have unlocked new abilities inside themselves. [They reached second level.] Guydust seems to be in quite a bit of pain. He asks the others to hide him from view as a hand crossbow made of bones is expelled from his body quite gruesomely. Dieter manages to cure his wounds and the rogue quickly hides the weapon under his clothes. The four get to know each other a little better and are put to work when needed.
At some point Dieter looks over the railing and sees a shark swimming just under the surface. But this is very strange, it looks like there is a sort of metal cage around its head. He calls over the others but it's gone when they arrive. Wallace has never heard of anything like that and starts to list of numerous sea creatures which it could have been. Later that day a whale breaches not too far away from the ship to the delight of all.
Guydust approaches Bosun Miller and tries to persuade him to do some entertainment for Captain Drumpf or others, explaining that that is where his expertise lies. But the halfling is not swayed being a person devoid of any sense of whimsy.
Then, during the night, a massive storm hits the flotilla. Our friends are asleep in the hold when they get tossed all over as the waves pummel the ship. A huge hole in the hull makes the ship list to the side. In nautical circles this is what is known as a ‘bad sign’. Before the party even knows it, for that is what they are now, they find themselves in the water. Huge waves spell their doom but fortunately half of a loading trapdoor floats nearby and they manage to cling on to it. Guydust loses his hold due to the storm but Dieter manages to grab his arm and pulls him back onto the trapdoor.
Tiny Island
After floating on a calmer sea for many hours they eventually wash ashore on a tiny island, about an hour before dusk. They have nothing but the clothes on their backs and maybe one trinket or other item they kept close. The island is not a bounty one; one rock spur sticks about eight meters up in the air, the beach is more pebble than sand. There’s one small tree, not doing too well, other than that just some shrub bushes that don’t grow much in the way of food. One can walk a full circle around the island in about ten minutes.
There are some things that washed up on the shore with them. A single coconut lays on the beach, still intact and filled with delicious victuals. Husk spots a vial containing a troll's finger. And Wallace manages to find a single gold doubloon.
Our friends search the island for food and other useful things, finding just a few berries and mushrooms but near the shore Husk finds a Marid's Tail, which can function as an improvised dagger, once. Meanwhile Dieter has gone up to the one tree and found a branch that could serve as a weapon. He manages to remove it in one piece and then uses anything around to sharpen it into a spear.
Considering their condition they feel an early long rest is in order and they wake up early the next morning. They try and catch some fish using some interesting techniques as Husk plays with a deck of cards that he someone managed to keep hold of. Then Wallace decides that he'll put his shirt onto the top of the rock spur as a flag. He wild shapes into a goat and clambers up there, holding the shirt in his mouth.
Dieter follows, reckoning that when the gnome changes back to himself to attach his flag, he might well come sliding down the rocks. But as the landsknecht makes his way he falls through a thin sheet of rock into a shaft below, debris flying everywhere. The others have fortunately noticed this; Guydust and Husk walk up to the hole and Wallace wild shapes into a large spider now, making his way down.
There is a force field at the bottom of a 30' shaft that has slowed down Dieter's fall and he ends up on the floor without hurting himself. A magic mouth on the wall starts speaking in an unknown language, sounding quite serious, as he gets his bearings. The bedrock has been carved out to create a room, the ceiling is about 15’ high, the shaft in the middle of it. It is pretty barren, on a stone shelf lies a book that has been totally overgrown with mold. A corridor leads away, there is a tiny bit of light coming from around corner.
Spider Wallace climbs down the shaft and goes through the force field and sees that Dieter is fine. He then climbs back up the shaft and surprises Husk as he exits, causing the gambler to startle and fall right into the shaft. Fortunately the force field also arrests his fall and he manages to land safely in the room below. Wallace tries to indicate it's safe and Guydust follows so all four end up in the room.
The gambler and the entertainer then manage to very carefully remove a single page from the book as the rest disintegrates completely. The voice speaks again and our friends go down the one corridor. Here they find a natural cave that has been carved in places to heighten the ceiling to about 8’. There are signs of combat, scorch marks on the walls, a broken arrow lies just inside the corridor.
To the back of the cave is a dark opening, about three meters in diameter, maybe it’s their imagination but the inside of it seemed to move a bit, throb? It is almost entirely blocked by a stone wall that is crumbling, Wallace is well versed in Arcana and recognize it as one made by the Wall of Stone spell. Almost a foot of water has seeped into the cave and in the murky water they can just about make out four small mounds of stuff. In the left back corner of the room lies a ball of something rubber-like wrapped around itself.
Three of the four mounds contain a dead body, very well preserved, and also a number of items. Going through all the items takes time but will likely lead to some good finds so most of our friends go through it carefully, whereas Wallace, still in spider form goes over to the rubbery thing. It slowly starts moving a little, waking up? The druid tries to help with the unwrapping, using his spider limbs.
Then incorporeal spiders come slithering through the walls, floor, and ceiling from the other room and they start to attack. The rubbery thing attacks with just a single appendage at first and hits hard; doing not just hit point damage but also giving Exhaustion when it hits Wallace. Every round the golem attacks with one more appendage and escape becomes a necessity.
Dieter has been using his improvised spear to try and pull the wall down but without much success at first. But eventually he levers up and a huge chunk of wall comes down, enough for them to enter the strange tunnel that looks a lot like the inside of an esophagus, peristaltic contractions and all, a place the snakes and golem don't seem to want to enter. Husk can't resist grabbing just one more item on the way out and they all barely make it to safety with two of them having multiple levers of exhaustion.
As they walk down the sloped tunnel they heal themselves as best they can. The tunnel is long and continues downward, only after a long walk they arrive in another cave, slick with water. The tunnel looks about the same at this end as the other, very strange. Things look to be safe so our friends decide to have a long rest to recover from their exhaustion and look at all the items they managed to grab.
Dieter found a potion of Stupendous Healing (3d10+level) and someone knows these are very rare and not for sale, it might be worth a nice amount. He also found a rather curious Doomed Dagger. Guydust found the Spent Spear which he gave to Dieter in return for the dagger. He also found a bracelet made of gold, set with turquoise stones. Husk found one exactly the same, each bracelet should be worth about a hundred gold pieces. Other items the gambler managed to recover are a helmet carved out of hardwood, shaped like a dragon’s head, boots made of dark leather that have turned very soft and floppy, and a really strange tiny, red stinger; Phlegethos’ Pick.
[Room with the mounds of stuff and some of the items there with thanks to Dale Friezen.]
After some good sleep they set off down the slick rock corridor, going ever further down, the temperature drops even more and everyone gets a headache. Eventually they come to a fissure, vapor rising from it, about ten foot across.
Wallace can't jump that far and wild shapes into an elk. When he jumps across with Husk on his back, small, winged humanoid creatures with pale skin and wisps of vapor rising from their nose, mouth, and ears rise from the chasm. They shed drops of steaming water when they move.
The creatures attack with their steam breath, hurting our friends quite a bit doing damage even in death as they explode in a burst of steam. Fortunately they are not as difficult to hit as most of their species are and the party has plenty of spells and Guydust's hand crossbow to take care of the three creatures.
The path continues on until they reach what must be a really big, stone door. A large stone frame runs up, across, and down a single slab of stone. There is no handle or lock visible but on either side there is a hole in the stone, just a bit bigger than a finger. After some investigation and discussion Dieter and Wallace each put a finger into one of the holes and the door slides open diagonally.
Midnight Altar
Beyond the doorway is a square room about 50’ on each side carved out of some kind of blue stone. A midnight altar, wrought from some superterrestrial metal, stands at its center. Faint lines of golden energy radiate from the altar along the floor to a large door. Above the altar float a number of symbols, most are white, two are purple. In the middle of the two side walls sit levers, both pointing up.
At the far end of the room is a large door, made of a dark wood and covered in many sigils that all radiate with magical power. Around the door and on the floor emblems have been carved, the same set repeats; a skull, a cloud, a triangle pointing downwards, something that might be an explosion, a scorpion. The door doesn’t seem to have hinges, a lock, or a handle. A tiny crack has formed at the bottom left of the door and a dark orange substance has seeped out, it looks like a small drop of syrup or honey.
As soon as someone enters the room a voice sounds in their head and they, but no one else, sees a black and white vision looking like an enigmatic version of a human, or in Wallace's case, a gnome. The entity sounds ancient and powerful, it offers each of them power, saying it can help with certain things they are dealing with, in exchange for doing certain things for it.
Wallace asks the others if they heard the same voice and he tells them that he is considering making a deal. Husk and Guydust tell the gnome that it's a bad idea, especially cause the entity is not clear on what it wants them to do. Wallace negotiates a bit, stipulating he doesn't want to torture people or be sent to go kill a bunch of people. He also makes sure his soul is not at risk. With the bargain struck the voice tells him to touch the doubloon he found to the small drop of syrup like substance. When he does so, the substance covers the doubloon and then sinks into it. On the surface of the coin the old markings are gone and what looks like a stylized letter D has appeared.
Their knowledge of Arcana shows that the symbols over the altar are likely a sort of status report and purple is probably not good.Guydust thinks the room might be related to a deity but not one of the current era.
The two levers are the one thing in the room that they haven't dealt with; Dieter and Wallace pull on them simultaneously. When they do, two things happen immediately. There is a sinking feeling as their room starts to float down, and six parts of the wall are blown away and beyond them are niches in a strange shell like shape. Each contains a bench that is angled ninety degrees, a receptacle holding a potion vial, and a lever.
Everyone feels the pressure increasing in their heads and it stands to reason it will only get worse. Dieter gets into one of the niches and Wallace quickly jumps into the same one before the landsknecht pulls the lever. When he does so, a force field covers the open side of the niche as it is pushed away from the wall and starts to float to the surface. When the escape pod pops out of the water it lands horizontally on the waves and the force field disappears, the bench is now in the right position to sit on.
Having seen the result of Dieter's action, Husk and Guydust stay a bit longer, grabbing potions from two niches, but with the pressure mounting, they too make their escape. Once on the surface, all of the pods find a way to each other and cluster together.
After floating in the middle of nowhere, the island is not in sight, for most of the day, they get very lucky and spot a ship. It's a fishing ship, the Twilight Wanderer, from the Hundred Mile Islands and our friends are taken on board. As they do so, Dieter and Guydust notice from the corner of their eyes what looks to be a huge head sticking out of the water, from about halfway up the nose. It's right at the horizon and must be enormous but it moves away before anyone else can spot it.
The crew of the fishing vessel consists of four people, all quite sunburned; Captain Raisa, tall, skinny, and quite sociable, Zaria, she has a broken nose, muscled arms, and is quite chatty, Blazh, he wears an earring with lapis lazuli, is missing a finger, and carries a hooked knife, he's quite jovial, and Kyrilu, a rather hirsute individual who squints a lot and is a bit grumpy. Amazingly, Guydust has actually heard two pirates arguing about this ship; one said not to attack it cause his cousin Zaria was aboard.
The ship is cramped with eight of them on it but they make it work as they set sail home to Abrinol, the neighborhood in Avale is named for it. During the journey our friends get to know the crew a little better and learn of the fascinating culture of the Hundred Mile Islands. That first night everyone on the boat sees a falling star, blue streaked, and very low on the horizon, crossing the sky.
After a, blessedly uneventful, journey of a few days our friends arrive on Abrinol. It's quite the sight; the buildings on the island are all made of wood and painted red, though a Dolac would say their quality was less than they were used to. Off to one side of the town there are a few houses that are clearly built in older Dolac style, including one tavern, the Maiden and Flagon.
A few warehouses in Dolac style are situated to the left of the harbor, that’s also where two large piers can be found, each has a ship anchored there. The Prince Willim is one of those, it looks to have taken quite some damage from the storm. The other ship is a large merchant vessel named the HMS Floris.
Captain Raisa invites the party over to dinner at her house and even offers to let them stay the night. First our friends go do a little shopping, selling the gold bracelets they found to get some new clothes and supplies. Guydust goes to the merchant vessel and his story of the shipwreck gets enough sympathy that someone offers him one of their old outfits.
Our friends learn that the Prince Willim won't be returning to Avale for a while but the HMS Floris is sailing there tomorrow. They go over to the ship and a blonde man, tall and wide shouldered, the type you would cast in your play to be the paladin or king, welcomes them onboard and introduces himself as Gerrut Hythe but tells them to call him Keeper. Apparently their story had an effect and he offers them passage and would like to discuss their experiences with the Admiralty.
The next morning, after a lovely dinner and a night in a real bed, they board the HMS Floris and find out that Keeper has vacated his personal cabin for them, he'll use a hammock on deck. They tell him about some of their experiences after being shipwrecked. Wallace goes on an hour long story that goes nowhere and is at crossed porpoise.
Dolac
Our friends make it safely back to Avale where the first order of business is to find an inn, as they decide to stick together; they learned that to get any adventuring work you need to be signed up as a group. They are told the Blue Balladeer Inn is a good place for what they are willing to spend so that's where they go.
But first they stop by Admiralty House in the Prester neigborhood where Wallace's knowledge of bureaucracy comes in very handy. He talks the receptionist in circles and they soon leave with 20 gp of wages for their time in the employ of the navy. Next they go to the Fabrics neighborhood where Dieter buys some tools and lots of fabric.
As they approach the place in the Bow Valley neighborhood they see an old woman in dirty coat sitting on an upturned bucket at the entrance to an alley. A brown mackerel tabby with gray field lays on a window sill and gets up stretching its back. A little girl with pale skin and big, blue eyes, in an old coat dances to music only she can hear. Inside the inn a lute missing its strings and a broken horn hang on the wall, a statuette of a panther, wooden and painted black stands in an alcove.
Then a visit to the Adventurers Association in Kesslia. They have to fill out a form, asking where their strengths lie and give a party name, for some reason they decide on "The Drowned Pussies". After a a short while they are lead to the offices of Jerry Tidwell, who will be their agent from now on. He's a tall halfling with dark hair and a big nose, and very outgoing, energetic. He offers them coffee that he has specially imported from Haza.
They discuss what he can do for them as he plays around with a silvered horseshoe in his hands, in some places the original iron clearly visible. Jerry tells them they are in luck; Grand Master and Torchbearer Geppert Cross, of the Guild of Cartographers & Surveyors has died recently and there are jobs available as honor guard. It only pays 2 gp but he explains that it's important to get a relationship started with any guild, they are much more likely to hire people they have worked with in the past, and usually don't look closely at what the work was.
He also advises them to get a ‘money person’, it's such a waste to keep your money in a pouch or under your bed. The money person knows the best banks to put them in or other investment opportunities. “Me and some friends bought the rights to the Dolac blue conifer; whenever a single one of them is sold we get part of that,” he explains quite animatedly. He suggests a bookkeeper; Carla Tebaldo, she's a gnome and does most of his investments.
First Jobs
Our friends are told to go to Save Nine in the Fabrics neighborhood to pick up ceremonial staves and robes with the Guild of Cartographers & Surveyors clue compass rose attached to them. Next they report to the Domicile of Diligence in Uppark. The procession will go to the Mother Mensual cemetery in the Dawnbloom Heights neighborhood and every hundred feet two people peel off to stand to the left and right of the street.
On their way they hear people in the crowd along the street talking. A halfling wearing a poncho with multicolored, diagonal lines comments: “you know what a dead Torchbearer is? A good start! I say burn them all, what have they ever done for us?” A woman in a hat with a blue compass rose emblem tells her companion: “I heard that thing that fell from the sky destroyed the entire city of Kostul!” A gorgeous half-elf in a blue dress says to her friend, who is equally stunning: “I used to have so much fun with Old Geppy, he was the loveliest little lapdog”.
When our friends get near Carriage Court it is their turn to take up positions. A dwarf with a beard woven into an intricate pattern asks: “Did they appoint anyone in place of the dead guy yet?” A man eating the last bit of his deep-fried giant answers: “No, this bunch are traditionalists and wait till the body is in the ground.” To which the dwarf replies: “Well, I hope that whoever gets in will be in favor of lowering taxes on labor, it’s got so bad I can hardly compete with foreign crap coming in.” Says the man: “This guild? Don’t hold your breath.”
As the funeral procession comes closer a man steps into the street, right between where our friends are standing. He throws a bottle of oil to the cobbles and pours another all over himself. He cries: “They ruined me! Those gods-damned guilds and their rules, destroying the common man and do they care? Do they fuck all!” as he takes out a tinderbox. People scramble backwards.
Our friends immediately respond and a Sleep spell by Husk has the man on the cobbles without anyone else being affected. Then Dieter and Guydust carry him off to the side and wait for the Humtache to show up, handing him over. Meanwhile Wallace removes the shards of the broken oil bottle. When the procession comes by, one person comes over to the party, a somewhat heavy set person but quite indistinct, it seems impossible to tell if they are human, half-elf, elf, or dwarf, and their gender is unclear as well. They introduces themselves as House.
They impressed with what our friends did and invites them over to their home in Uppark for lunch the next day. Our friends arrive at the mansion and the door is opened by a servant wearing a red vest over a white shirt and a green cap. As they are being led to the sun room, they go through rooms that are filled with all kinds of things that almost entrance Husk.
There is an ornate roulette wheel, some kind of contraption that shows three symbols and has a metal lever to the side. There are many decks of cards in display cases; regular decks, three-dragon ante decks, tarot decks, and decks the bard can't place. On the wall hang displays with poker chips, all have different symbols; a golden pitchfork, a silver ship, a red whip, a gold ring, and many more. There's also a painting of dogs playing cards, Wallace thinks one of them might be him.
Everyone has a lovely lunch; mimosas are provided as Wallace had asked for. The party learns that House is a recent arrival to the city and is in the process of starting a new venture, something they might just be able to use our friends for. House promises that they will have some work for them in the near future.
The very next day Jerry sends a messenger; he has work for the party. "It's a twofer!" he exclaims enthusiastically when they enter his office. He has received requests from the Alchemists & Apothecaries Guild and the Messengers Coalition. Both seem to him a good match for our friends and he hands them the parchments; Missing Messenger & Request for Ingredients.
Kenohob
Our friends make it to Kenohob without any trouble, all the while having kept an eye out for Herleva. Once there they find out she picked up her package and left, right on schedule. They also learn that wild animals have been coming into the village causing havoc, this is not normal behavior, usually they know the risks and avoid the hamlet. Only last night the Furious Farmer lost a number of cows due to a wolf attack.
Our friends go visit her and the halfling tells them, pointing at the forest with her scythe, that the wolf went back into the nearby forest. First Wallace and then Husk try to track the wolf but fail utterly at it. With a sigh the Furious Farmer points to where the creature entered the forest and once they enter the forest Dieter has a look and he unerringly finds the trail, even being able to tell how long ago it was made. The tracks lead to the dead body of the wolf, with an zombie boar standing over it. Battle is short and swift with the boar snuffing it in the end. [Wallace manages to roll two 1's when rolling with Advantage; activating a new property on his Doubloon of Doom.]
There's only an hour or so of daylight left but again our friends prove very proficient at tracking, following back the path the boar took. They arrive at an ancient barrow mound, deeper in the forest. Sitting on top of it is a redheaded girl and her dog, which has very red eyes and looks strange somehow.
The party talks with the girl as they carefully come closer. She confirms that she is Herleva and tells them that on her way back to Avale, her dog Snuffles dashed into the forest and she followed him. It lead to the barrow mound, one side had collapsed a bit and left a hole big enough for the dog to go through. When Snuffles came back out it was very much changed and now, anytime it came near a creature it turned it into a zombie.
Herleva wants to stay here with her best friend, she knows that returning to civilization is not a good idea so she has resolved to just stay here for as long as she can. She is clearly malnourished and likely quite exhausted. Wallace uses a Speak with Animals spell to talk to Snuffles and there seems to be some kind of malevolent presence that has taken hold of the border collie. The dog explains he just wants to make more 'friends' and when challenged he sends in six zombified forest creatures; battle is on!
It's a very tough combat with both Guydust and Dieter dropping to the forest floor. It's a good thing Husk can heal at a distance. With their resources almost completely depleted they finally bring down the last of their opponents. All the while Herleva and Snuffles remained on top of the mound watching what was happening in front of them.
Now Husk tries to talk to the girl again and he eventually uses a Minor Illusion spell to create a copy of Snuffles next to him, sans red eyes. He bluffs and tells the girl that this is the real Snuffles, even having Guydust bark to sell the illusion. Herleva runs towards the illusionary dog and then Snuffles follow her before being intercepted by Guydust who ties up the animal.
Meanwhile Dieter has walked around the mound and found the opening into it. Inside he sees numerous gifts one would leave a buried chieftain; hack-silver, simple jewelry, a bone dagger, and a wooden box. Fortunately he doesn't enter the hole and just shouts to the others about his find and what to do next.
The others come over and Husk manages to put Herleva to sleep by singing her a lullaby. There is a lot of discussion what to do next, is there a way to cure Snuffles? Dieter meanwhile removes all the dead creatures from the scene, moving them deeper into the forest. The party comes up with a plan so out there, it just might work.
Dieter casts Heroism on Snuffles and gives it some Bardic Inspiration, having received some himself from Husk. They throw the dog into the mound with a rope attached and when encouraged it manages to shake off the malevolent presence, his eyes returning to their natural color. The party then quickly pull him out and then seal up the mound.
They return to Kenohob and take a room at the Wispy Vapor Inn for all six of them. The party all agree it's not a good idea to have Herleva go back to Avale by herself and figuring there is no rush for the other job they return to the capital with her and deliver her to the Messengers Coalition HQ. They then do some more shopping and start the return journey to Kenohob the next day. From there they go south as indicated by the request and eventually come across an ogre.
But that's not all there is to it; someone built a palisaded wooden fort on its back! And in there are three goblins, one speaks up as the party approaches. “Ah, perfidious questers! Surrender your treasures and artifacts and your existences will be spared!” Our friends do not feel inclined to take this deal and move closer and the goblin speaks again: “Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational Flak Ogre!”
Battle is on and the goblins are very adapt at sniping at the party with spell and bow before hiding behind the wooden cover again. Unfortunately for them they miss as often as they hit. The ogre hits more often and harder but it turns out that a druid with two Wild Shapes has a nice buffer of hit points to make it through a fight.
Eventually the ogre topples and the goblins roll away, escaping as they run between the trees, making any parting shots difficult.
The next day our friends manage to find all the ingredients requested by Herb’s Store. They set up camp near a marsh and then proceed to have a very strange dream featuring a blue and green painted carriage and a mansion with a butler and long corridors full of doors.
Avale
Our friends deliver the ingredients and ogre parts and Herb, the proprietor, shows them a number of interesting items he is willing to sell them for their services, he tells them to check back often as his stock changes frequently. When they return to the Grey Minstrel Inn they are accosted by a dwarf with a rather tangled and unkempt beard. He is looking for a job and introduces himself as Aracuda Shovi, it's clear he is far from home but our friends don't have any work for him. Husk says that he might be interested in having a retainer in the future.
The next day a message from Jerry, their agent, arrives. He has a job for a druid to sub for one who got sick, the druid is to wild shape into two different animals for a play being staged at the Catifras theater in Oakhurst. He also included three free tickets for the play that night. Wallace takes the job and he goes to the theater that afternoon. The marquee reads: “Hanno Salt stars as Jack Hoida in Jack Hoida and the Forgotten Temple”.
He is met by the Long-Suffering Assistant Director who explains they need a panther in the first act and a giant snake in the third. He is then introduced to the Water Wrangler, the Pyronicist, the Sound Effecter, and the stage hands. He briefly meets Hanno Salt, a dark haired, square jawed man in dark pants, a white jacket with dangling fasteners, and black gloves, who sucks on a licorice stick and soon leaves with a giggling blonde. Wallace learns the play is about intrepid explorer cutting a swathe through vines and canoeing down white-frothing rivers in a territory composed almost entirely of jungle and implausible traps. He gets to practice his part with the Nervous Stand-in.
In the evening our friends take their places in the audience and Wallace is in the wings. The play starts with a bard singing an opening song as the backgrounds change and stagehands walk out with placards showing who plays who. At the end of the play another song is sung. Some quotes:
"...and of course, Queen Tamarka was my lover, but now she wants my head on a stick. All because I gave away the secret of her immortality..."
"...and that's when I married the love of my life and retired. Only for her to be murdered six months later, dragging me back into my old life..."
"...after that I spent a year undercover as a pirate under Captain Rosaline, the River Rose. Also my lover, by the way. And come to think of it, she also wants my head on a stick..."
Wallace does a passable job and is in the changing rooms afterwards when Hanno Salt steps in. “The production went as smooth as can be, you all deserve a drink. I love it when a play comes together,” he tells them before he leaves with a giggling blonde, not the same as the one in the afternoon. The gnome goes off with the cast and crew for a drink and the rest of the party also goes to a nearby tavern for a libation or two.
Night at the Museum
Not much later another job offer comes through; our friends are to act as guards for some animals on display at the State Museum during a fundraiser. They are told to look the part more than anything; wear all the armor they have and bring their biggest weapons. At the location they are met by the Harried PA who explains she had to make a deal with the museum guards; the party has to stick to their location with the animals and are to leave everything else to the museum guards.
The event takes place in two large, connected rooms and in one corner there is a display; "Animals from Neniros". There's a large cage containing an orangutan, a large box with glass front and top in which a huge anaconda lies. Two smaller boxes with glass tops and fronts hold Neniros toads and blue poison dart frogs. A small cage hanging from a pole contains a single orange and black bird; a cock-of-the-rock.
The caterers are busy setting up tables full of food and drink and at some point someone calls out; “Hey, Naffles, where in the Nine Hells are you?” Wallace looks around and spots his fourth ex-wife, Dersigos, who works catering this evening. Earlier in their journey the party has learned that the druid has 12 ex-wives. Wallace tries to hide from her but she sees him and comes over, they speak a few sentences but her boss needs her back and she tells the gnome they'll talk after the event. Then the first guests start to arrive.
Once everyone is present a short man with a large mustache steps up on a small podium. Quinton saw this man on his first day in the city, near the Pursue Hickory bank. They learn that he is Joseph Lacombe, the Grand Master and Boss of the Guild of Bookkeepers, Notaries & Scribes. He holds a short speech:
“Friends, welcome, it is good to see so many familiar money pouches, I mean faces. We are so fortunate to be able to congregate here this evening and enjoy all the world has to offer, great food and drink a plenty. But we should spare a thought for those less fortunate, those that live in squalor, who don’t have a job, whose children are sick and going hungry. We should not allow our society to let this go on and thus I have started the Solutions for the Infirm charity and call on you for support. Please enjoy your evening in this wonderful ambiance but make sure to donate generously as I know you can.”
He then steps from the podium and approaches one of the guests. “If it isn’t Fitzwallace-Keely, my favorite guild boss, Jeffery, we need to talk about you opening your coffers,” he says, grabs a drink from a tray and then moves away with the ruddy haired man wearing an expensive suit with embroidered green scales.
The place is filled with the great and the good of Avale but unfortunately our friends don't know any of them and no one points them out to them. They do recognize the holy symbols of Osprem and Lirr, so there are at least two, likely high-ranking, priests present. There is also a tiefling woman, she must be from the Kasarian Embassy. There are definitely a lot of guild members as many people wear guild insignia. There are three memorable socialite ladies who rather oh and ah over the blue frogs.
Some time later there’s a flash coming from the other room and then lots of smoke, coughing people stumble into the adjoining room where our friends are. The party holds position near the animals, Dersigos and another waitress, this one more nattily dressed make their way over, still hacking and trying to catch their breath.
Eventually the museum guards go in and it becomes clear the Flame of Dolac, a transparent fiery orange Jacinth carved into the shape of a flame, is missing. The Humtache is called in, lead by the Well-Meaning Detective Inspector, a short man with a white mustache, wearing a small hat. Dieter actually saw him from his room at the top floor of the inn catching a pick-pocketing girl.
After a little while he comes over to our friends and asks if they have been in the other room at all. Seeing as they haven't, he asks them to help interview some of the witnesses; he's pressed for time as all the powerful people in the room are bristling at being held here. He takes them over to talk to four men. The first introduces himself as Roger Newsome, of the Mimico Newsomes, he adds when all he gets are blank faces. He's wearing a bracelet with a huge piece of jade and a ring set with a fire opal. He explains that he and his three friends Arthur Elliot, Theodore Grady, and Horace Sims, are gem aficionados, they call themselves the Stoned Boys. Unfortunately none of them have anything useful to report.
Our friends report this and then return to the animal corner. The museum slowly empties, they've been told they will be the last to be allowed to leave. As the catering staff leaves and four animal handlers in blue coveralls approach Husk realizes that hiding the gem with the animals might be a good way to smuggle it out and he tells the Well-Meaning Detective Inspector this. He is thanked for this insight and the short detective tells him he'll look into it, they can go home now.
Once outside our friends are accosted by the Indignant Reporter from the Vulpine Count. He was at the fundraiser and has lots of questions but they don't tell him anything useful, or even true. As they walk home Husk spots the Well-Meaning Detective Inspector and another Humtache are tailing a wagon loaded with the animals from the fundraiser.
The party follows the followers and see the wagon being moved into a warehouse with the Well-Meaning Detective Inspector and the other guard taking up positions to observe. Dieter uses a Disguise Self spell and pretends to be a drunk, moving down the road and then observing the place from the opposite way.
Wallace wild shapes into a giant spider and he and Husk climb up onto the roof of the block of warehouses. Through an opening in the roof they see the waitress from earlier that night sitting on the third floor, observing the scene below. Unfortunately our friends made a little too much noise and she spots them.
This sets off a cavalcade of events which includes Wallace the Spider using his web to pull open the large pen the anaconda remains in, giving the thief the perfect opportunity to dash inside and look for the gem. A hidden guard who came in with the animal handlers gets out of her hiding spot and calls out loudly, alerting people outside.
Spider-Wallace manages to trip up the thief and pin her down on the bed of the wagon but she eventually manages to escape, maybe also because the snake is now attacking the spider. She manages to make it out of the door and is not fazed by a sleep spell from Husk. But before she can use her superior dashing powers she is surrounded and brought down by Dieter's great-sword, spider bites, and a guard's club.
Husk quickly gets on top of her and pretends to stabilize her as he manages to lift the Flame of Dolac from her and pockets it. The Well-Meaning Detective Inspector isn't born yesterday and makes sure to keep everyone in place as he sends for more guards. He chides them for getting involved and they are taken to the Humtache HQ where they are further questioned.
Husk returns the gem and asks for a signed affidavit that they were helpful in recovering the national treasure. This he gets and then the party is escorted from the premises and told to go home. Who knows, some time in the future they might get an actual thank you from the government, stranger things have happened.
The next day the attempted theft of the Flame of Dolac dominates the news; the Humtache is praised for their swift recovery of the national treasure, our friends are not mentioned. There is also some general news; clouds have been seen in the shape of dragons; is it a sign?
Wayward Son & Saffron
Some days later a distraught mother comes to the inn; she heard about the party finding the girl from the Messenger Coalition and her Wayward Son is missing and she has no one to turn to. Our friends promise to help and learn that she lives in the Woodfall neighborhood, working two jobs. Her son often goes to the White Bridge and to Promise Fields.
Since Wallace can change into a dog and Husk owns a dog, our friends accompany the mother to her home to get an article of clothing from the son. The trail leads to Promise Fields first and then the bridge where they find the boy's best friend who tells them that the Wayward Son made a bet he could find an oyster and left town to find one in the river.
It takes a number of days and along the way they meet Ranna Amethystall who once took an elective with professor Wallace and asks how his wife is. Eventually they find the boy near some cliffs at the riverside. A fight with some nasty creatures is unavoidable but our friends are victorious and save the Wayward Son. They find some money and a necklace in the cave nearby and also a sentient magic item: Fleur.
Husk feels for the boy and our friends take a full day to search for a pearl but don't find any. Then the party returns to Avale and return the boy to a relieved mother. In the next few days Dieter makes some new clothes for the boy and his mother, of the best quality. They also learn of some news; the Black Hare tavern is going out of business. Not much later our friends run into an old gambling acquaintance of Husk; Brad Beck.
“Yo, bro, I haven’t seen you in what, two years? Still chasing those royal flushes? This dude, the stories I could tell you. I’ve got a great line on copper ore, want me to hook you up, bro?” He takes the party out to lunch and regales them with (embarrassing) stories about Husk. He also asks them to help him smuggle saffron into the city...
Our friends agree to help after Dieter negotiates for a little more pay. They are told a wagon is waiting south of Old Yards and they are to help get it in safely. The party splits up and each go alone so they are less conspicuous in the 'bad' neighborhoods and can get a lay of the land. Wallace arrives first and when the dwarf at the wagon asks if he's the only one coming to help, the gnome tells him a druid is never alone and extends his arm. And low and behold; the cock-of-the-rock from the museum lands on it!
The driver is rather nervous though and explains that they need to get to a warehouse in Kalehaven but they need to avoid any tax inspectors and going through Abyss Annex means they might have to deal with gangs. Dieter manages to calm the dwarf down quite a bit, which will help a lot with the upcoming trip.
The driver has a forged waybill that claims they are carrying wheat bought by The Grog Father brewery while in actuality the saffron they are smuggling is destined for a spice merchant; Curry On My Wayward Son. Husk manages to forge a fake seal on the papers but unfortunately there's only one bag of wheat at the bag of the wagon, should there be an inspection.
Wallace wild shapes into a mastiff and Husk sits next to the driver while Dieter, using a Disguise Self spell, walks along looking like a mercenary. It doesn't take long when Husk spots something. Next to a food stall in front of The Loan-ly Warrior's Stop pawnshop an old man nudges a young boy next to him and nods towards the wagon, the boy then runs off.
Our friends are pretty sure what's going to happen next but have no real recourse but to continue on their way; the wagon doesn't really fit down other streets. They are waylaid by a gang of over ten people, the leader telling them they are called the Impellers. He is a reasonable man and only wants to see what they are carrying, and once he does, he asks for a reasonable 20 gold to let them continue on. Husk manages to talk him down to 15 gold and the party gets to travel on and make it to the warehouse without any further issues.
Jilted Jinnie
Then an urgent messages from House arrives; they wants the party to get to the docks as soon as possible. Once there, they explain that they need help smuggling the Guild of Stevedores' top boss and Torchbearer, Jinnie Affo, out of the city. Not only are the Humtache looking for her, but so are numerous guilds. House promises to “square it with Adventurers Association later”, and gives each of them a gem worth 25 gp.
Then further explains Jinnie can't leave by boat as all will be searched. House has a wagon waiting for her at Parade Fields, they need to get her there unseen. But before that she needs to go to the Stevedores HQ in Hookville to liberate some documents from her office and she wants to say goodbye to her family who are waiting for her in her brother-in-law’s house in Cegir Town. House also makes it clear that if she were to die for any reason, her body can never be found.
Our friends go to the HQ first as that's closer and find there's not just Humtache but also people from the Armorers & Weaponsmiths Guild observing the front entrance. They convince Jinnie that they can destroy the papers and she explains where they can be found. Wallace then wild shapes into a gecko and manages to slip inside. His luck runs out once he's on the top floor and happens upon one of the few people still there.
This half-orc freaks out and attacks with his dagger; hitting the druid but Dieter's Inspiring Leader' temporary hp make that he remains wild shaped. The guild member rushes down the stairs, yelling about a gecko and Wallace slips under Jinnie's office door. He manages to burn the documents and climbs down from a neighboring window. He is spotted by another interested party on the street, someone calls out: "was she there?" to which the gnome coolly replies "negative" and then walks away.
From there our friends travel to Cegir Town, having a close call when someone sees through Husk's Silent Image spell as they try to cross the street behind it. Fortunately an Entangle and a Fog Cloud spell from Wallace is enough to delay the pursuers and lose them. Dieter has been scouting ahead and he notices two figures standing in a doorway, keeping a close eye on Jinnie's brother-in-law’s house. He disguises himself as a Humtache and successfully bluffs them into believing he was sent to tell them Jinnie has been apprehended.
She then has a quick goodbye with her family, her five year old son can't stop crying. With no time to lose they continue southeast and in Kesslia, as they cross a street, with Dieter ahead, all the others spot the shoes of someone being dragged into an alley and some muffled sounds that go with that. They all look at each other and Jinnie grimaces; "we move on".
But Husk can't let someone be dealt such a bad hand, he goes to investigate as the others go on and blows his signal whistle. He goes to the alley and sees a halfling girl laying on the cobbles, and an assailant running off, his pants undone as he disappears around the corner. Husk leaves and Dieter arrives, still in the guise of a Humtache. He helps the girl up and she asks him if he can escort her home. But he can hear the sound of boots rushing over, likely a patrol and he tells the girl that his 'colleagues' will be there soon and then runs off after the rest of the party.
In Bow Valley Dieter manages to rumble a group of would-be robbers and our friends then arrive at Parade Fields. Just beyond some construction work for gakker grounds with stands and a concessions building they see a covered wagon waiting, just as House told them there would be. A horse is standing in front of it and a driver sits on the box.
Together they move towards it when Wallace hears a slight *pop* sound coming from behind them and he sees Jinnie stumbling and falling to the ground. He now also realizes that the driver has not moved a muscle all this time and not much later when a cloud moves away from the moon they can see that both the driver and Jinnie are rather blue.
They correctly surmise poison is the likely culprit and they do try a Cure Wounds spell but it's too late for that. So they hastily put Jinnie and the driver into the back of the wagon and drive it south all through the night. Once it seems likely they are not being followed they wonder why the guild boss was killed if people wanted to get information from her. They build a pyre and burn both bodies on it, making sure there's nothing left to be found.
They return to Avale, seeing the old woman in her dirty, green coat collecting pebbles near their inn, where a message from House is waiting, saying to come to the mansion as soon as possible. They aren't very happy to hear of what happened but glad the body won't be found. A chance encounter with Herleva Boden makes Guydust set up an account at Under-Barrow Savings for food for her two puppies.
Jinnie's disappearance is dominating the news in town, lots of rumors are going around about her being corrupt and defrauding the government for sums of money up to one million gold pieces in some tellings of the story. Other news says the Black Hare tavern has been bought and renamed to the Thirsty Recruit.
Up the Alley
The next day the party goes to the alley where the girl was being dragged into and do a careful search. They find nothing of interest but an urchin shows up willing to sell them a small silver earring they found there. They take it to the local Humtache but without a victim and more evidence they say they can't do anything.
Our friends then decide to go to a jeweler in the hope to get more information. The nearest is Rock Bottom Prices where the guy behind the counter is anything but helpful. After a large enough bribe he uses a loupe and tells them it was made by Rings and Things in Jeoran Terrace.
At Rings and Things they don’t keep a list of sales but due to the repair work the woman there recognize it as one sold to Joser Jalbuck for his daughter. When asked she tells them he lives at Bell Way, and she thinks he works at Wesson's Smithy. Once there the foreman won't let them talk to him until his lunch break. So Husk goes to find a card game and wins big; 10 gp! Dieter goes looking for a new sword, and Wallace spots the cock-of-the-rock!
Eventually they talk to the halfling and explain they found an earring that he tells them belong to his daughter. They then tell him what happened in the alley which comes as quite a shock, his daughter hadn't told him anything. He takes the earring and thanks them, saying he will give it to her when she gets home. Our friends give him the name of their inn, telling him to ask her to come see them.
Very early the next morning the girl, Brook Jalbuck, comes by the inn. She's quite unhappy they told her father what happened. But she is willing to talk with them when they promise they'll try to get the culprit jailed. She doesn't remember much more than before; the assailant stank of Hatchet, like he was drenched in it. The son of the family she works for, Gabriel, uses it, and he has the same build and height as the assailant, but he can't be the one. And lots of his friends wear it as well.
She leaves to get to her job in time and our friends decide to split up. Dieter and Wallace will go to a perfumer and see what they can learn about this Hatchet, and Guydust and Husk will check out the son. The latter two go to Gill Gardens and knock at the door to the family mansion. A butler opens and Guysdust bluffs that he owes money to the son of the house and needs to hand it over personally. The butler does not budge; the son isn't available right now. Our two friends leave and start working on what to do next.
At the nearest perfumer; Eau My Gods, Dieter and Wallace learn that Hatchet, known as Bobcat in certain other countries, is very popular indeed, so much so a bootleg version of it is made. The girl at the shop mentions that only a few days or so ago there was actually a burglary at Heaven Scent in Kesslia. Their new destination clear our two friends visit and learn that one or two people broke in and made a mess of things, breaking a lot of the supplies. The alley where Brook was assaulted is just one street over, giving our friends little doubt as to what happened. Wallace wild shapes into a dog and follows the still very noticeable trail of the perfume. It leads through quite a few neighborhood but ends up at the Humtache HQ in Downpark.
When the party meets up, all four go to the HQ and ask to speak to the Well-Meaning Detective Inspector. He tells them that he heard of the break in but it's not his case. He'll talk to the officer in charge of it and says there's a small chance they could make the guy confess to the assault but this isn't the criminal's first time being caught, so chances are not all that high.
Our friends then go and tell Brook that the culprit is in jail at least for another crime and that there is a chance he might still get time for his attempted assault. Some of our friends are just too curious about the murder of Jinnie Affo and while the others say that investigating it is risking their relationship with House, and their lives, they still go to Parade Fields.
Once there they investigate the area thoroughly and are lucky to find some small pebbles and other unassuming objects, all the same distance away from each other, that are all just slightly phosphorescent. It looks like the assassin was there long enough to prepare the kill zone, and was likely positioned at the construction site. Guydust goes to House to tell about a potential mole and 'flirts' a little.
Sarodin Sea
Chirurgeon Browns
The party receives a message from Jerry, their agent, and it tells them to go to a house on Lookout Road in the New Dunum neighborhood, and to bring bay ribs. They buy half a dozen at a street vendor and go to the address. The door is opened by a blond man with very square jaws and a pointed chin. He wears leather pants, as many people do here, and a plaid shirt. He asks if they are the adventurers he hired and then invites them inside.
He introduces himself as Hirsute Looking Glass and is rather surprised at the lack of reaction to his name, mumbling how normally people all get up in his business over it. He takes the box of bay ribs, immediately sucks the meat of off it and throws the bone over his shoulder. His place is quite a mess; there's an old couch he indicates for them to sit on, an old wooden trestle table that has seen better times and all kinds of alchemical equipment is covering any flat surface.
He tells the party he needs them to go to Hogan Island and bring back a log of tomko tree, at least a few meters long. Why go all the way there? It's the nearest place that he learned the trees can be found. He has hired a ship, the Wetterlund, that will bring them there. And why does he need adventurers? Apparently the island is uninhabited but full of dangerous forest creatures; baboons, owlbears, regular bears, giant varieties of toads, wasps, spiders, etc. In short; no lumberjacks were willing to take his contract, such nonsense!
Having eaten all of the six bay ribs by now and told them all they need to know, the man now herds them from his place and tells them to bring him back his tree as soon as possible. Fortunately Wallace remembers reading about tomko trees; they are quite tall with a dusky bark and dark leaves with tiny holes in them.
Our friends go do some shopping; cutting down a tree that size won't be easy. The Wetterlund is a large ship; pretty close to the Crowned Griffon that the party sailed on before. Captain Reynolds is a brusque halfling with red hair in a ponytail and a limp. She invites them for dinner in the captain's quarters and they enjoy a really tasty meal. Our friends learn about the captain's former career; cheese rolling. She broke her leg in multiple places but is still very enthusiastic, describing how she barreled downhill, chasing Twin Glevum cheese.
In the morning they sail past Gannet Island and after a good number of days they arrive at their destination; Hogan Island, it's bigger than they expected. As it's an hour before dusk they decide to wait till the next day. At dawn they all get into a launch and are rowed over to a small beach. It's quite misty in the morning and the mist is so firm that you need to push through it, one could even sculpt it.
The flora here is rather strange, some is much larger than elsewhere, other much smaller; there are tiny apple trees with apples the size of cherries, and huge oak trees with very large acorns. Massive mushrooms grow here as well, including sprite members that are almost two meters tall. Our friends come across a piece of green and blue fruit, the colors swirling slowly around its skin. Wallace puts it in a pocket where he keeps the Doubloon of Doom, the fruit disappears, and the item might just have gained a new property.
After about a day and half, helped by a Locate Animals or Plants spell from Wallace they find the tomko trees they are looking for; a circle of twelve. Very sharp vines grow between a number of them. As our friends prepare to cut one tree down, they are attacked by creatures made of just twigs full of needles. They launch these in great numbers and when most are taken out, a much larger specimen arrives. It's a bloody fight but our friends persevere.
Afterwards Wallace cuts open the big creature hoping to find something to take back to Herb's Store but fails at the task, opening up quite some wounds on his arms. Our friends came prepared and brought the right tools to cut down one of the trees and then cut off a three and a half meter piece.
It takes a good while but they bring it back to the ship and load it on board. The journey back gets eventful when a pirate ship approaches but Captain Hornigold doesn't stay around for long, just collecting some hats.
Dolac
Soon our friends find themselves back in Avale and deliver the log to Hirsute Looking Glass, putting it in his backyard that is full of esoteric things; other logs of wood, strange stones, a cauldron that could fit Quinton, and more.
They return to the Blue Balladeer Inn and learn the latest news; the Pholtan Church of the Sun in Downpark burned down when they were away. In the evening they have a drink at their favorite tavern; the Grape Escape. Instead of the nice, relaxing evening they hoped to have, instead they get an encounter with the fabled yortho.
It's Wallace who gets taken over by it and the creature plays it cool, not trying to escape at once but waiting for a good moment which eventually arrives. With the other party members relatively far away and distracted, he wild shapes into a rat and sneaks out under the front door. It was almost perfectly timed but the Drunk Cooper noticed and cries out. This warns the others and Dieter is first to react, jumping through the large front window. A Feather Fall and then a Shatter spell take out the druid just as he jumps into a grate to a water drain. Meanwhile Husk used his signal whistle and the Humtache show up, now the party can try and explain they might just have saved the entire city.