The Dig - Chronological order of Events
A simple, well paying job goes horribly wrong and the party has to flee for their lives. What exactly happened remains unclear but seems to have had quite some repercussions.
The protagonists
| Current | Retired | ||||||||
| Arosin Quindriall | Liddy Goodbarrel | ||||||||
| Calliope D'uvall | |||||||||
| Hanur | |||||||||
| Regius Osea |
Loveria
The four protagonists find themselves in Korint, capital of Loveria, where they come across a job opportunity. At this point they don't know each other but when they hear about an organization that offers triple normal pay for work somewhere out in the countryside they all decide to join up. It turns out their mystery employer is House Ditta and the job site is in the Amorgus Swamp, quite a distance away.
They, and a number of other new employees are all put onto a caravan with supplies to their destination in the east. The first part of the journey up to Pefki is quite safe but for the second part everyone is warned for nomadic ‘bandit’ tribes and other possible dangers. After twenty, luckily uneventful, days they arrive at their new home; The Dig.
After things have gone horribly wrong, the party and "Red" flee till night falls and they have to make camp in the swamp. They are still alive and haven't met any rodents of unusual size, so far, so they are counting their blessings. The entire sky has strange green sheen tonight, not something any of them have ever seen before.
The next morning they bury the arm Liddy was carrying around and then it's time for the trek back to civilization. Unfortunately no one present has any particular wilderness skills. Hanur volunteers to navigate their way west and does an admirable job. Regius' attempts at foraging for food and water are less stellar. Then things get a little hairy when Hanur and Regius walk right into quicksand but fortunately the others manage to pull them out.
The next day the foraging is much improved and in the afternoon they are quite surprised when a quite large boar (but not unusually large!), with a broken spear sticking from its back, comes charging out of the underbrush and hits Regius, almost bowling the poor cleric over. The fight is tough as no one is carrying any weapon larger than a dagger. Some healing magic from both Liddy and Regius means that the boar is dead before it can kill anyone.
Another day and now they come across a ramshackle building in the middle of the forest. At the back of it they find a shovel, a pick, a crowbar, a hammer and some nails, all just about still usable. It's a mess inside with lots of debris and animal nests and if it wasn't for a ferret they wouldn't have found a trapdoor in the floor.
In the twenty foot deep cellar below a ladder can be seen laying on the ground, and a little ways away from there, a skeleton with ten spent torches laying in a perfect circle around it. 50 foot of hempen rope lays in a neat coil next to the skeleton on one side, a backpack on the other. Hanur survives a fall and a snake bite but manages to recover the backpack and the rope, eventually even getting all that back up to the others.
The backpack contains manacles, a tinderbox, a lump of coal, a waterskin (empty), a mess kit, a pouch containing 20 gp, a small item wrapped in silk, and a piece of velum; a patented questionnaire. The item wrapped in silk turns out to be a Flawless Hand Mirror.
The next morning they come to a sizeable river they need to cross, in the far distance are what might be two large statues facing each other, according to "Red" they must be ancient. Regius wades through the river but forgets to tie the rope to a tree first. Then when Arosin is the last to cross he almost forgets to untie the rope. They come to a cliff in the afternoon but it is easily scaled. The terrain now becomes more of a savanna turning into prairie; this is where the tribes roam, "Red" warns them.
Two days later they come across a strange hill in the landscape, Hanur, a student of history, recognizes it as a burial mound. He even knows that often the entrance/exit was facing to the south. Liddy doesn't think it's a good idea to disturb it but the others think it could contain some useful loot, especially since no one has any real weapons. Regius tries to placate the halfling by telling her they'll leave money for any items they'll take.
After opening it up they find that inside there's a skeleton on a bier. It is wearing (copper) coin armor and has a bronze longsword and shortsword. Moss agate gems have been laid on its eyes and its feet is a piece of hacksilver and a wicked looking dagger made of a large tooth of some creature. A trapdoor is set in the ceiling over the skeleton. They take all three weapons but leave everything else untouched.
Next day they look to be a lot closer to civilization and come across a small abandoned fortress. Libby suspects it might be one built by the Companions of Elric in the past. Unfortunately there is nothing inside except for three restless in the cellar. A difficult fight breaks out where they learn that zombies are particularly hard to put down, the last one taking about ten attempts. Half-orc hardiness means the fight didn't go against them but Liddy is brought low and no one has any healing left. They manage to stabilize her and bring her along.
The next morning the halfling is fine again but unfortunately "Red" is not; he has been weak all journey but tried to hide it. Now he feels his time is up. He gives Liddy a small wooden box and a signet ring with the letters RM on it. "Don’t open it, once opened, it can’t be restored. Don’t trust anyone. Don’t give it to anyone in House Ditta, just to Emese, my sister, in Ide Volcar" he pleads with her. He does ask the party to tell House Ditta what happened at the Dig. His last words to them are: "May the wind be at your back. Good fortune touch your hand." They bury him and continue on their journey.
Late that afternoon they come to a fortified farm and inn, where the Selchoun family takes good care of them. The next morning before they can leave for Pefki, a traveler arrives with a cart. He knows the name of all party members and has brought them newly bought items; exactly everything they had to leave behind at the Dig (clothes, weapons, etc.).
The party is quite surprised by this and the man, Oshowon, explains that he doesn't really know why he's here. Someone he can't really remember told him to bring these items here. All he remembers is that he was approached after he attended services for a new goddess that only revealed herself to the world just over a week ago; Istus. He explains what she is all about, he's become quite an enthusiastic worshiper of her.
Korint
Eventually the party arrives back at the capital and they immediately go see House Ditta. They end up in a room with Zdenek Honadi and he has a priest of Boccob brought in to cast a Zone of Truth spell to verify everything they are telling them is true, as he can hardly believe what he is hearing. Eventually he thanks them and pays them all 25 gp each, asking them to come back tomorrow as he will go check on some things and will likely have more questions, he'll pay them another 25 gp then.
Everyone goes their way; Arosin and Regius go check out a service to Istus on Terta Square. The man leading the service, Vardan Brekker is quite compelling, people are quite enthused about this new goddess. Afterwards Arosin spots Hanur talking with Vardan. Regius tries to convince people that Ulaa is the goddess to follow, and has some success. Liddy goes to the Companions of Elric and manages to get room and board for all of them there. Over dinner they discuss their day and the latest gossip in town; there's something going on at Kasarian Embassy; lots of people keep coming in and out. The other thing keeping the town busy is the upcoming Stiltorq tournament.
The next morning they return to House Ditta and learn that the man they knew as "Red" was actually Ratik Meloi, of the royal house of Haza. They are debriefed further, this time also by Centak Mairin Othmeir of Bruised But Not Broken who has been hired to go to the Dig and recover the situation.
Afterwards the party goes looking for more work and finds a notice board:
- The Lucky Hare, a high class restaurant, is looking for someone to gather ingredients in the Nitiki Woods.
- Queen Rissi Theatre seeks a great negotiator.
- Someone at Artist Alley seeks nude models.
As they are contemplating their options they are approached by a man who introduces himself as Velkor Oberlee. He tells them he has a lead on a bolthole that is likely still full of interesting items. He is willing to sell them the location and give them a piece of vellum containing Dark Speech words they might need to get to it. Hanur is immediately enthusiastic about this and the others are soon too, Regius is sceptic though. Still, they pay him the 25 gp he asks for.
Next they go to the restaurant and the chef there, Elmontius, tells them he wants sprite members, but only ripe ones! He explains how to find the correct ones, what they look like and how to harvest them. They will pay 5 gp per kilo. The party now has a nice journey planned, being able to combine both jobs with a visit to Drendeven, where Liddy is from. Hanur does some research; good thing the Companions have a library and are willing to grant her access! She learns that the Vresto family used to be big in the sheep trade but can't find what happened to them.
Vresto Mansion / Nitiki Woods / Drendeven
The next morning they leave town and eventually reach Vresto Mansion where they have some interesting encounters.
Next stop is the Nitiki Woods where they start looking for sprite members. At first they find other mushrooms, Liddy knows they are the kind that can give you really interesting night. Eventually they find a small circle of sprite members and take them. Then they hit the mother lode and find a triple circle of the mushrooms. Just as they are about to pluck the first one, they notice small and larger ambulatory fungi coming towards them.
These creatures release spores and are then able to speak into the minds of the party. This causes Hanur a slight panic as he recently has been having a bone dagger talk in his head already. The mushroom people express their anguish at the party's harvesting of mushrooms, explaining it pains them as they are all a connected consciousness; via something one could call the Wood Wide Web.
Regius isn't very happy when these creatures belittle the intelligence of the 'fleshbags'. But Liddy immediately apologizes and plants the harvested sprite members back under the direction of one of the creatures. She also promises she will tell people not to take any mushrooms from the forest. In thanks the fungi creatures bring her a small box containing; a (or the?) Blemmigan.
The next day the find a man laying on a rock about an hour outside Drendeven, he introduces himself as Julian Jaconti and he goes with them to Half Town. They are in luck (or has Liddy planned this?) the Spring Festival has just started. There's loads of stuff to do; guess the weight of the pig, guess the number of beads in the jar, ‘bear’ wrasslin’ (kids only), stalls with lots for sale, the Tourney of Talent, a Sling Competition, and the Tower of Strength.
Regius immediately heads for Robin Tower to prove his strength and Hanur can't resist to bet that he can beat the cleric. The entire party has been acting a little strange for a while now; Hanur with his bets, Liddy expounding on the most random of subjects, Arosin rhyming his words (though that could just be a bard thing), and Regius boasting about his looks and putting others down. He does do better at the strength contest than Hanur but as he leaves, a strapping halfling lad does even better.
Three of our friends decide to enter the Tourney of Talent and wouldn't you know, Arosin wins with an absolutely wonderful horn rendition. Afterwards he's approached by a halfling girl, Aloniira Bockhop who takes him behind the barn where they make out and stuff. At the end of the day the results of the beads contest is in, and Arosin won that as well; it really is his lucky day!
Liddy invites everyone to stay with her family and they have a large dinner together. Her cousin Olpara tells a story about Liddy; "when we were kids we snuck into the distillery and the fumes got to her head, she started talking with a thick tongue, saying she was getting really hot, took all her clothes off as we made our way back out and then fell into a large puddle of mud! You should have seen!"
Late into the evening they enjoy everything the brewery and distillery have to offer. Arosin goes to see Aloniira again and manages to really impress her. Afterwards she tells him: "you make love like an elven meal; very small, but so many portions!"
The next morning is rough for most people and the party discovers they are all missing one of their belongings. Regius immediately accuses Julian and goes through his belongings but doesn't find anything. Liddy asks around and finds out that four kids have been having their own little tournament; 'Lifter’s Luck'. She manages to catch Alton Glenoak and gets him to return all the items.
Waterboarded
About half day from Korint a man walks into the road when the party approaches and asks Liddy if she is Liddy, and Arosin if he is Arosin. He has a pretty thick accent, Sormark, probably. Then he casts a fireball spell near them and tells them to surrender. More people appear, all having covered up their face, they are human or elf size, that much seems certain.
The party is taken into the woods and then asked to tell the man everything they can about the Dig and what they saw there. Hanur manages the impossible and doesn't break from the waterboarding he is subjected to. The others do eventually spill the beans though even their interrogator admits that it isn't much they can tell him. The captors then leave on horseback, leaving our friends to free themselves. They leave them their possessions and money but one of them did take the bone dagger found under Vresto Mansion.
Korint, part Deux
At the gate they ask the guard if he has seen any groups with horses entering the town this afternoon. He remembers a few; some Companions of Elric, some merchants, some mercenaries, and some adventurers. Hanur then goes up to a beggar and after paying her a gold piece she can tell them that a group of Sormarkers came into town a few days ago, looking really shifty, and looking for ways to enter the town without using the gate.
Then, on the way to the Companions HQ, Arosin spots a boy lifting a merchant's money pouch and handing it off to a girl. He quickly casts a sleep spell and sends them both to dreamland. He then warns the man, who then takes his money back, and gives the bard a gold piece. The merchant then wants to call for the guard but Regius tries to convince him that the children need care, not punishment, and they know where to take them.
The merchant isn't convinced and a guard patrol is seen coming down the street. Liddy quickly wakes the girl and asks her if she knows anything about Sormarkers new in the city and the girl tells her that some have recently come and are smuggling and selling Glow Ice, some kind of drug. They can be found somewhere in the Esiben quarter, it's near Artists Alley. Liddy gives the girl a silver piece and asks where she can be found, the girl replies that every day she'll be at Plateia Square near the statue of King Brosef, at noon.
Back at the Companions building Liddy goes to Tholli Urdo and tells him about the waterboarding and other things that happened. He is dismayed but not surprised people are wanting more information on the Dig. He doesn't think it's likely the Sormarkers are involved; they are Glow Ice smugglers, here in Korint better knows as Perfect Day, and he can't see how they would even know about the Dig. This sounds more like the work of the Kasarian Embassy, though it's quite brazen, even for them. But there are many other groups that are interested as well, so he can't be sure.
The next morning Liddy finds a Mysterious Letter has been slid under the door of her room. At breakfast and in town they hear the latest rumors. The Glow Ice story is hardly new to them but they hadn't yet heard about the Bu Dlite virus that seems to be wreaking havoc down south. And last night someone covered in frost tried to break into Rock & Scroll, he shot some mystic beam at the guard, pushing them away. Next thing he just vanished into thin air.
They haven't forgotten about the curses afflicting them and they go see Vardan Brekker at the new temple of Istus. He tells them that at any temple they would charge probably around 200 gp to lift a single curse. But if they can come back tomorrow then he can probably help them and Istus won't charge them a copper piece, he's sure that in the future the party will be able to help out Istus when needed.
Next they go see the pickpocket girl who tells them a little bit more about the new Sormarkers in town, she knows one is called Bjorn. When asked, she gives them the name of a local drug dealer, "Greasy" Julien, the party hopes that could someone who'll know more. They go see the man and he doesn't fall for Regius' pretending to be a customer. But he has no problem giving them the location of the Sormarkers.
The party decides to drop this matter for now, just in case Julien goes and tells on them, and they go shopping instead. They stop by Rock & Scroll and ask about the (attempted) break-in last night. The owner tells them that she doesn't think anything was stolen, she's still doing inventory to make sure. She hires them on the spot to guard the shop the coming night. Nothing much happens except for Liddy maybe seeing a spectral grey cat out of the corner of her eye for a second.
When they go back to the Companions the next morning Tholli Urdo tells Liddy that he was approached by House Revol; people have gone missing in the village of Vessa, he figured this would be something the halfling paladin and her friends could look into. They have a quick breakfast and then leave for the sugar cane village.
Vessa / Mysterious Letter Cave
After a few days travel they arrive and are met by the House Revol representative who explains that now four people have gone missing in the last six days. Some plans are discussed, including one by Regius that involves greasing up Hanur with bacon grease. Eventually they settle upon wearing dungarees like everyone else and go into the fields to hopefully lure out whoever or whatever is the cause of all this.
The next morning Hanur takes some distance from the others and then suddenly something bursts out of the ground behind the monk; it resembles an enormous many-legged insect, its long antennae twitching in response to any movement around it. Its legs end in sharp hooks adapted for burrowing and grasping its prey, and its powerful mandibles can snap a small tree in half.
Battle ensues and if it wasn't for Hanur's half-orc resilience he would gone down after the first attack. Eventually the party manages to bring the creature down only to discover almost immediately it had a mate. The second battle goes a little quicker and the second one goes down as well. They decide not to investigate the tunnels the creatures dug. Instead they are celebrated in the inn, and they bask in the admiration.
The next day they set off for the cave the Mysterious Letter has described. The second day into their journey they happen across some laying across a boulder, gaining their consciousness; it's Julian Jaconti again! Just like last time he has no idea how he got there or what happened. But he is happy to travel along with the party on his way to Garios.
When the party gets to the ford indicates in the letter, they follow an arrow made of wooden sticks into the woods and eventually to the Kobold Cave. On the way back to town they meet a House Ditta caravan going to Stjordvik. Apparently people tried to steal from them as they were leaving town and they have captured the would be thieves, taking them with them, to hand them over to law enforcement elsewhere.
Korint, having a ball
After a few days of enjoying their spoils in town, Liddy is approached by Tholli Urdo who tells her he received a missive from Lady Tadien. Two things have gone missing from her home and she is looking for people to look into it, as quickly as possible. Tholli thinks it probably needs to be done with some discretion and hopes the paladin and her friends will be suited for this. The party accepts and goes to Thessaly Hall.