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 Whispy 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.