DM Fflash's Shackled City Campaign

Game Master DM Fflash

Epik nods at Nowzai. "I think we agreed to meet at the inn, correct?"

We can assume you all meet up, either at the inn or with Meerthen if you wish to participate in the conversation about House Rhiavadi

I haven't been following their thread, but we can meet wherever makes the most sense for the timeline.

Brass Trumpet

Meerthen makes a face "It's OK ..." until Dalamus casts the spell.

"Ah, that's a bit better. Folks may or may not see through that. Going as a different race and different sex may be a bit much."

Feel free to meet up with the others whenever you wish

I haven't been following their thread, but we can meet wherever makes the most sense for the timeline.

Oh we've been following yours...I lost the pool as none of you died and I was fairly certain only Tlanextic was making it out of there alive

At what point in time would they have gotten there? I personally would like to rest and be at 100% before Dalamus goes in to scout and I am sure Beta Team would like to rest as well

"Maybe you are right. I can go as halfling man, I should be able to pull that off"

Do you want me to roll again for the change?

yes

-Posted with Wayfinder

Disguise

1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13

After the short but difficult excursion, Nowzai appears a little worse for wear. "I will need some rest before we engage in any further misadventures. All of us could use some healing, as well. We can meet up with the others and Jenya at the inn."

Nowzai releases Tlanextic to recover on his own and heads back to the inn.

If/when he finds Dalamus, Sama'el and Nemoris, he will ask what they discovered and explain their own findings through the portal.

yes we need healing.

Elder since we know where that place is now, can we teleport back to find out what was so important to them?

Nowzai flashes a rare, surprised smile at Magma. "Indeed! I had completely overlooked that option. Now that I have seen the place first-hand, I can effectively teleport back without much chance of error. I would only be able to take three or four with me, but that may be more than enough now that the ice fiend and golem are destroyed."

Brass Trumpet

Meerthen and the others look at each other with raised eyebrows, "You looked better as a woman."

Needing you all to tell me what's next. Don't assume the separate parties have read what you did

Once the others return to the inn, Epik will address the group. "We successfully closed the gate in the tower of Pharasma, but there still remains unfinished business. We will have to return at some point to fully explore the area on the other side of the gate and understand what prompted the creation of the gate in the first place. Unfortunately, the danger was more than the three of us could risk."

"With the gate successfully closed and the threat to the Temple of Iomedae neutralized, I suggest our next task may be to confront the usurper whom has taken control of Cauldron - Lord Vhalantru."

Dalamus will look at Meethen and the others "I hope you are joking..." he then just shakes his head..

To the Beta team, as Sam has labeled them

"Holy hell, you all look like death!! Closed the gate, did you have to go to war to do it?"

I have read all the posts, so no need to recap for me

I have read everything as well but I will recap our stuff cause he didn't get our asses handed to us so it was pretty easy

Glacning over his travel weary friends Sam gives them a tight smile "Are you all alright? Did you by chance run into a demigod or maybe an ancient dragon through the portal?" Once he knows everyone is mostly ok, nothing some rest and healing won't help he fills them in on what happened to us "We found where the Last Laugh was keeping Fario and after we scouted out the building we deduced were we thought the most likely location for where he was held and we simply D-Doored into that room, quickly killed Jil... Speaking of which, Sam looks around and asks "We should really find a way to question her before we just rush into House Rhiavadi, she may know information that can save us time or lives or both" rubbing his chin in thought "Where was I? Ahh yes, we managed to rescue Fario though he was in poor health, we were able to bring him here for healing and he was just telling us that House Rhiavadi is deeply involved with what is befalling this city. Fario thinks that Vhalantru might have something to do with the mayors disappearance, as his name was listed in an old book the mayor had been researching on noble houses including House Rhiavadi. Fario noticed an increased amount of shady individuals coming and going at all hours" (Sam will list off the ones he thought he recognized) "and while he was watching that house he was captured. "

"We were just now discussing our next steps, Dalamus wants to infiltrat the house alone, and I want to question Jil's dead body"

From Fario
"Yes, House Rhiavadi is involved in something dire in this city. I was investigating the strange disappearance of the Mayor and I retraced his last known steps to the city archives where I paid the archivist to find out what he was researching. Noble families in turns out ... the last book he looked at had recent ink smudges on the Rhiavadi page and a bleed through of ink from something else he wrote ... it appears it said Vhalantru. House Vhalantru has no entry in the Cauldron archives given Lord Vhalantru's relatively recent rise to prominence here.

As such, I traced the Mayor to Osibu where I was rebuffed from entering. Frustrated I returned to watch House Rhiavadi where I watched some strange things over the past couple days. I saw members of the Town Guard ... those not engaged in the siege ... and members of the Blue Duke's half-orc mercenary unit entering and leaving the House at all hours. Many would travel to House Vhalantru. Some shady guests appear to be staying at House Rhiavadi and I saw some others arrive. Of note, a pale half-elf clad in scant, tight fitting balck garments came in a horse drawn coach. Her cloak was made of what appeared to be a black shadow and it fluttered about her as if there was a wind, but the night was still that evening. She was ushered in by a smiling slip. A pair of well-armed humans arrived the night after, one carrying a black mace capped with an iron skull and the symbol of Zon-Kuthon emblazoned on his shield. The last evening I watched, five well-armed dwarves arrived. One of them looked familiar, a white-haired, white-bearded dwarf wearing ablack leather half-mask set with a black gem in place of his eye. I never once saw Lady Rhiavadi but dozens of her servants came and went, mostly slips. It was shortly after the dwarves that I lost memory."

What Sam thinks

The one-eyed dwarf sounds like Adrick Garthun, who Dalamus has met a couple times, most recently at the Cusp of Sunrise. The Kuthite sounds like Kkyron Bonesworn, a Nidalese priest exiled from Nidal for his mercenary nature, but still dedicated to the shadowy god. His companion is likely to be Melagorn Thureq, a necromancer who never leaves his side.
Khryon is the leader of an infamous band of adventurers in the region called the Necrocants.

Nowzai shakes his head, frowning deeply. "Lord Vhalantru always treated me with respect, a rare kindness for a stranger in this city. For some time, I have been cautiously optimistic that he is not involved in the city's troubles, but I am coming to believe that is a naive hope. Whether he is innocent or not, we must at least confront him and hear out his side of the story."

"These other actors, I know nothing about. Do we know how this House Rhiavadi relates to what we discovered in the temples? Or to anything else?"

Having trouble piecing the puzzle together...

Yeah I can't figure out if Vhalantru is evil or if we are just supposed to think he is evil, it's why I want to question the dead Jil, I think she might know who the master of all this is

Epik frowns, "I would prefer to not disturb the dead, but if she has information that may help the city, then we must do it. Do we have a means to question this deceased Jil?"

"Jenya should have the power needed, I am not sure if anyone else here does"

Epik will go to the temple to get Jenya. He will share with her the information provided by Sam. "Jill may be able to help us uncover the true threat to Cauldron and prevent catastrophe. Will you assist us in speaking to her from beyond the grave?"

Meeting up with Jenya, you find her tired and slightly frazzled, but as always, she is pleased to see you and pauses from what she's doing to assist you.

"Yes, that capability is within my power. I'll need to rest and pray tomorrow for it. In the meantime, I'll have the acolytes prepare the body. You will be able to ask five questions, so I suggest you come up with that list. It will be a week or more before I'm able to question her again if you don't like the answers."

"We wish to learn of Vhalantru, but need to be direct in our questions as to avoid possible ambiguity in her answers."

"An example: 'How is Lord Vhalantru involved in the disappearance of the mayor?'"

Epik rubs his chins and thinks of suitable questions. "That is good Nowzai, that can be our first question. Perhaps, where is the mayor?
What is Vhalantru's association with the Cage Wrights? What do the Cage Wrights plan next for Cauldron? What is the purpose of the cage hanging in the Temple of Pharasma?"

He turns to the others. "She may not be able to answer some of these questions. Do you have better ideas?"

The last laugh guild is used as the puppet for all of these dealings, we should see if we can figure out who the leader is, so that we can get additional information from them. That is information that she will clearly posses.

"Excellent suggestion. And if we can free the Last Laugh from their control, its one less hostile faction we have to contend with."

Five questions:

How is Lord Vhalantru involved in the disappearance of the mayor?

where is the mayor?

What is Vhalantru's association with the Cage Wrights?

What do the Cage Wrights plan next for Cauldron?

Who is the leader of the Last Laugh?

Agreed?

Looks good!

She might not know all that, I was thinking things like

• Who Hired You
  
• Who's the leader of the Last Laugh
  
• What were you hired to do
  
• Where is the Mayor
  
• How is Lord Vhalantru involved in the disappearance of the mayor
  

That other stuff I am assuming she has no way of knowing, I could be wrong but I think she is a minion, high ranking minion, but a minion

I really like the "What were you hired to do" question. All the questions are good

I think we are going to get nothing on the Cage Wrights from her, as she probably has no idea. So my suggestion is take Epiks questions, drop those two and add the Hired ones from Sam

After you have narrowed down your 5 questions, anything else you wish you do for the rest of the day or evening?

-Posted with Wayfinder

I really like the "What were you hired to do" question. All the questions are good

I think we are going to get nothing on the Cage Wrights from her, as she probably has no idea. So my suggestion is take Epiks questions, drop those two and add the Hired ones from Sam

That's fine with me.

Let's spend the rest of the day buying and restocking our provisions.

I agree. Does the battle worn team need downtime for healing and rejuvenation?

"We'll need to rest tonight and recover. We should be able to press on tomorrow."

He looks to Nowzai for confirmation.

"Great, the sooner we can get out there, the better we will be!"

Nowzai nods, "Indeed, I will require rest before we continue."

Feel free to retcon any purchases or other activities prior to the questioning ... nothing major will happen during this time. Also, post new memorized spells.

The morning comes and you head to the Temple of Iomedae where Jenya and her acolytes have set up a small room with the notorious guild lieutenant's body.

Incense and candles burn and thick cloying scent and bluish-white haze cover the room. Jenya indicates where you should stand and takes your question before she begins the casting.

As soon as she finishes her incantations, Jil's corpse thrashes

Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

The corpse then sits up jerkily and turns her head toward Jenya, the gaping scorched hole in her chest evident and her dead eyes staring impassively.

Jenya asks the first question

"Who Hired You?"

and the corpse opens its mouth, a raspy breathless rattle forming the words.

The three-eyed lady

Jenya raises an eyebrow at you and then continues the questioning,

"Who's the leader of the Last Laugh?"

The Jester

"What were you hired to do?"

Find and kill those who would harm us

"Where is the Mayor?"

Ask the Lord of Eyes

"How is Lord Vhalantru involved in the disappearance of the mayor?"

The Lord of Eyes asked for it

Nowzai sighs, "'Lord of Eyes', 'The Jester' and 'The Three-eyed Lady'... more riddles. I am afraid that, while we now have cryptic names for our enemies, Jil told us little to move forward on."

The next morning Epik will begin the day in prayer. He will update his spells as followss:

1st: Divine Favor, Bless, Protection vs. Evil, Lessor Restoration
2nd: Resist Energy, Inheritor's Smite, Ironskin
3rd: Good Hope, Dispel Magic, Litany of Sight

Epik nods at Nowzai, "In time this information may prove to be useful. But for now, I think we must confront Vhalantru. Though we still don't know the specifics of what he is plotting, it is clear that he has nefarious intent. Perhaps instead of directly confronting him, we should see if we can slip into the manor and determine what he is up to."

"Indeed," Nowzai agrees. "Our meeting with Lord Vhalantru is quite overdue."

"When we last tried to speak with him, his brutish guards were not very receptive. I doubt their demeanor has improved. I fear a diplomatic, or direct, approach will only lead to confrontation. Any attempt to infiltrate quietly reeks of trespassing and will not be seen as a friendly visit. Any suggestions?"

Dalamus is clearly as irritated as the others with the lack of real information. "Ugh! Even in death, they have to be coy and elusive!"

"I can infiltrate the house, but I care not of the labels that would be given to us, as for now....We have a real need to get this information. I can be invisible and climb in through a window, or I can devise a disguise of someone that will be welcomed. Short of sneaking in, I say we handle the confrontation as best we know how.....with our swords. Time is of the essence"

Epik shrugs, "Though infiltrating the manor is unlawful, it is warranted this case due to the threat to Cauldron and Vhalantru's unlawful usurpment of power. Perhaps we can magically enter? We could purchase invisiblity potions or perhaps Nowzai could infiltrate with Dalamus and then teleport the rest of us in? I would prefer to not fight our way in if we can avoid it."

"I was able to infiltrate the base of the Last Laugh with a combination of invisibility and gaseous form, it's almost untraceable, and it allowed us to find exactly where we needed to be to rescue him, this might work in this regard as well, though I am open to letting anyone else do what they think will work as well"

"I can teleport in, while invisible...This will allow me to move about silently and observe and listen to the goings on. My concern with the whole party recon is, while everyone may be able to be invisible, we will still need to be quiet and stealthy, and that is not exactly the strength of everyone in this party" Dalamus says this, as he eyes the paladins armor and raise an eyebrow.

"I still think a quick recon is in order. Sam, while you are a gas, can you hear things? Are you visible at all?"

"Yes I have full access to all of my senses while I am gaseous, and while also invisible I am undetectable by any but magical means and immune to almost any harm even if I am discovered"

"I could dimension step several of us through, but my range is limited depending on how many I have to carry. If Dalamus and Sama'el scout on their own, I can take the four of us about 150 feet."

Epik nods at Dalamus. "Yes, I admit, it is hard to be stealthy in full plate. Perhaps one or two of you recon first and then we consider whether to teleport or dimension step the whole party in. There is, of course, a higher element of risk."

"Sam, I think it makes the most sense for you to go in, in gaseous form and invisible. If you can just hover over head, you can observe all the people, the conversations, the roles and plan. Sounds like the perfect recon."

"I will stay close by, so that I can react and be stealthy if need be, while the rest of you stay perched in a building watching me. I will signal if you are needed. If I go in without giving a signal, then give me some time. In the meantime, the quietest of the rest needs to move up to my position to keep an eye on what is going on"

both the nemoris and epik are both in heavy armor and i have a breast plate. none of us will be quiet. our elder can't go in alone, so we will need a silent spell to conceal our sound to back up dalamus.

fysa, invisibility gives a +20 bonus to stealth, +40 if not moving

Sam, post memorized spells and your plan of action. Dalamus, tell me where you want to be. Nemoris will guard the rear, provide overwatch to the entrance from outside. Figure out what you're doing with Tlanextic as well (who is telepathic for what that's worth). Any other spells cast before Sam enters, please identify now. Map up with previously explored areas marked from when you came for dinner ... obviously you can't see in those areas from the outside.