STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
You all rush east, toward the river and flooding. Ahead you see Captain Carthan and another guard veer to the north toward another cry for help while straight to the east, two more watch members have reached the deeper flood waters and are preparing to enter it and move toward a collapsing house.
Suddenly, one yells out, "There are people in the water! Wait...what are those things??!!"
While the figures in the water appear humanoid and wear basic clothing, they swim too fast to be human.
"Uh-oh. Swimming zombies or... something," says T'chazzar as his swords come out. He takes up a position near the watchmen. "Let's hit them as they come out of the water."
Trusting that whatever was moving that quickly in the water wasn't good, Arani moves forward, drawing her bow and taking up a position, ready to fire on the first of the creatures to reach the shore.
When T'chazzar identified the swimming things as undead it was all Falina needed to know. She chanted, gestured, and sent a pair of missile leaping out at the nearest of the undead swimmers.
During Davina's rescue of the little boy, and their walk along the streets, Leora spends the time thinking. While she is tempted to ask Davina some history questions, she isn't sure how to since somehow, they are over a thousand years in the past!
So Leora puzzles it out on her own. She's pretty sure worshiping Cayden Cailean was outlawed fairly recently, when the Thrunes made devil-worship the official religion of Cheliax. And that was after Aroden died, a couple hundred years ago. Since the Kintargo Guard was against diabolists, she decided that being a cleric of the Drunken Hero probably wouldn't get her into trouble.
The shouts draw Leora back to what's going on around them. "Whatever they are, they aren't friendly!" Leora agrees with T'chazzar. She moves closer to the water, halfway between T'chazzar and the rest of the group.
Raising her flask high, she says "Cayden Cailean, bless us with courage to save people from the flood and fight these monsters!" After finishing her spell, she looks around quickly to see if anyone reacts to it.
Davina rushes forward to see the creatures swimming closer. "Those aren't survivors. That's for certain." She moves up next to T'chazzar and holds up her rapier in a ready to attack position.
STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
Leora's gut instinct is spot on: None of the watch members flinch when she invoked Cayden's name. Davina and Mortan follow T'chazzar's orders without hesitation, moving near the edge of the floodwaters. Sabrina--still without her armor--nonetheless takes a step in front of Falina and draws a rapier, acting as the sorceress's bodyguard. Jessibel coaxes the little boy Davina rescued to move a little closer to the action before launching into an inspirational war chant you've never heard her sing before.
The two aquatic undead swim swiftly toward the two watch members nearest the water, an unthinkable wave of roiling floodwater following right on their heels. Falina's magic missiles slam the southern one, but the damage isn't enough to stop the thing's attack. Its fist smashes into the watchman's chin, the force of the blow and the wave driving him back into Davina. The aasimar and drow hold their ground as the wave bashes them, as do the guard and Mortan a bit further north. A third undead appears in the water further east.
Arani looses her arrow, just missing the unarmored creature to the north.
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Davina takes a step in fron to T'chazzar. "Sorry I can't reach it without moving."
She stabs with her rapier.
"No worries." T'chazzar sidesteps and lashes out at one of the other soggy corpses (#1).
"You got this, Arani," Leora says, lightly punching her friend on the shoulder. Then she trudges through the mud to get closer to T'chazzar, Davina, and the bad guys.
STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
Davina, T'chazzar, and Mortan all score hits on the aquatic undead, though they feel their respective blades didn't inflict full damage to the monstrosities. Nonetheless, coupled with the damage done by Falina's magic missiles, Davina's mean stab is able to drop her foe .
Leaving the rescued child with Sabrina, Jessibel runs forward, yelling that these things might have resistance to non-magical attacks. At the end of her dash, she casts magic weapon on T'chazzar's main short sword. Hearing the bard's words sparks something in the minds of the party spellcasters: If magic weapon is on your class spell list and you're of a high enough level to cast it, you believe you could somehow manage it. Hell--you think you could cast ANY spell on your cast list...maybe even one of one level higher than you ought to be able.
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Deciding to weaken the last of the undead in the water Falina sent one more flurry of magic missile lancing out at it.
Taking a deep breath, Arani fires past her companions at the other creature on the shore.
STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
Falina puts three (THREE!!) magic missiles into the newest undead arrival, badly wounding but not quite eliminating the monster. The thing summons another wave that pushes it toward Davina in a violent charge, the water spreading beyond to also wash over T'chazzar and the two watch members. The impact knocks the drow and the southern guard prone.
Both Davina and T'chazzar are clouted hard by the creatures' fists; water that seems to originate from the creatures splashes into the heroes' mouths, causing them to gag . An instant later, Arani's arrow streaks over T'chazzar's fallen body, hitting the undead but bouncing off, leaving only the smallest of wounds. Jessibel gives the Black Thorn a glance that conveys 'I'll magic your bow if you give me a moment!' The nearby watch member likewise scores a shallow strike, but the undead still stands.
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With the odd feeling that she might be able to do something more powerful than usual, Leora holds up her flask and channels energy to harm the undead in the water. "Take that, undead scum!"
T'chazzar spits out the water and, while on the ground, lashes out feebly at the undead.
Davina closes her mouth just in time and avoids the worst of the water. "Hurry. I don't have a magical weapon."
STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
Leora's positive energy channels wins the day for the heroes from the future: it's enough to drop the one that T'chazzar stabs while prone, and while the positive energy doesn't quite finish off the second undead, Davina's rapier thrust closes the deal.
There's still some shouting away to the south, but all's quiet currently where you're at. Mortan drags one of the undead from the water so folks can get a better look at it. It looks like a drowned man, its skin bluish-white. There are strips of webbing between the otherwise normal fingers, and the toes are spaced wider than a human's and are likewise webbed. Its clothes are simple, and there's a small coin pouch tied to his belt, which Jessi snags and examines.
"Not much here," the bard reports, "though the mint is ancient." Seeing the strange looks she's getting from the two watch members, Jessi backtracks. "Did I say ancient? I meant to say 'current,' as in 'of this place and time in history'."
A cry from Sabrina lets the others know things aren't yet finished here: Another pair of the undead appear around the corner at the top of the small incline between houses to the north. A stream of water rushes down the slight hillside, making the ground appear slick.
At Sabrina's scream, Arani turns on her heel with stunning alacrity, releasing an arrow and nocking another in an eyeblink, her first shot hitting one of the creatures in the chest while the other punches through the other undead's throat.
T'chazzar hauls himself to his feet and with swords in hand he moves to intercept the undead coming from the side.
STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
While T'chazzar and the two watch members scramble to intercept the two new undead, Arani does something a little more 'hands-on' about the threat. Her first arrow badly hurts the western creature, but her second pierces the throat of the eastern one, which drops, gurgles, and then lies still and silent.
Seeing one of the undead drop to Arani's arrow Falina turned her focus to the remaining one and sent a pair of missile winging through the air to slam into it.
Leora is pleasantly surprised that the more powerful spell worked! She gives herself a mental once-over to see if she feels drained from channeling energy
She takes a look at the undead, but jumps into the fight when Sabrina shouts about more of them coming! Since channeling energy worked so well earlier, she tries it again.
Davina books toward the incoming enemies rapier out, and ready to attack.
STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
Falina's latest volley of magic missiles puts the last nearby undead in a world of pain; Leora's subsequent positive energy channel destroys it.
All's quiet. That may not entirely be a good thing, however, for Captain Carthan and another guard had rushed north--the same direction these latest two undead appeared from--but there's no sign or sound of the men currently.
"Let's move. There should be sounds of combat coming from that direction." Arani says, pointing in the direction the Captain had raced off in with the other guard. "Silence might not mean anything good,"
The moves in that direction, her steps carrying a stalking, predatory quality of one in a dangerous environment, hunting deadly prey.
STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
To the north, Arani discovers a bloodied watch member lying on the ground; it's not immediately clear whether or not he still draws breath. There's no sign of Captain Carthan or any more of the aquatic undead.
Davina follows Ariana. "Leora can you check on this gentleman?" She keeps an eye out for anything else coming this way.
"Damn, not good!" Arani says tersely, looking around for any sign of violence.
Leora follows Davina and Arani ahead, and hurries to the bloodied watch member to see if he is still alive. She checks to see how bad his wounds are, and what harmed him, and quickly casts a healing spell on him.
STREETS OF KINTARGO, 3214
The fallen watch member seems to have some blunt trauma to the head: there's a bruise on the side of his head and his nose is bloody and likely broken. Leora finds that he's still alive, but her healing spell isn't quite enough to bring the fellow back from unconsciousness.
Although Davina spies nothing nearby, Arani's sharp eyes catch movement out in the water as a shirt sleeve with a hand poking out its end sinks beneath the roiling, muddy water's surface. Nothing resurfaces.
Just as the other guards arrive and lament the vanishing of their captain, the scene seems to go hazy. Everyone awakens in their beds in the Silver Stein Inn. It seems that you all entered some sort of dreamscape. The only remaining question is: Did you enter it on your own by accident...or were you drawn in?
At breakfast the next morning, Leora remarks "Wow, I dunno if it was the fumes in that sewer, or that thing we found down there, but I had some pretty weird dreams last night."
Once she's finished her meal, she suggests "What do you guys prefer we do next? Maybe if we check out the sewers some more, that will give our, uh, friend who's protecting the museum some time to clear out."
"So you had them too?" Arani asks with a frown. "I'm pretty sure shared nightmares are not a normal occurrence......are they?"
Davina takes her seat. "If you went back in time in your dream, I'd say it wasn't a normal occurrence. I fought some swimming undead, and actually climbed through a window without getting hurt. That was certainly a dream."
She drinks some tea, and mulls over their choices for the day. "Let's give our bookish friend some more time. I say let's check out the door in the sewers. By the way good shooting last night Arani."
"Thanks" Arani answers before stopping to consider the implication of the fact that they remembered the same things. "Definitely not normal."
SILVER STEIN INN (8 Gozran)
Jessibel and Sabrina come down to the common room fashionably late, the bard asking if she, Sabrina, and Mortan are invited to join the sewer expedition. Alyss the proprietor interrupts, saying that her young bouncer/assistant is needed for a variety of tasks this day and won't be adventuring.
"Good morning." Arani says as the others come down. "I agree with the idea of checking out the sewers." she sas after a bit of thought.
"Wait. You guys had the same dream too? Kintargo, um, a long time ago? Now that's really weird. Glad we don't have to worry about flooding these days, we have enough things going on around here to keep us busy."
When the others come downstairs, Leora says "Sure, Jessi and Sabrina, you're welcome to come with if you aren't busy."
"Back to the sewers it is. Jess do you have your presto clean o spell ready? I'm sure we're going to need it." she continues to eat her breakfast.
I'ts very odd that we had the same dream. I wonder if it had something to do with the weird creature in the sewers."
"Back to the sewers it is. Jess do you have your presto clean o spell ready? I'm sure we're going to need it." she continues to eat her breakfast.
I'ts very odd that we had the same dream. I wonder if it had something to do with the weird creature in the sewers."
SILVER STEIN INN (8 Gozran)
As Davina wonders aloud if the hallucinagenic sewer plant may have caused last night's shared vivid dreams, T'chazzar approaches her and asks, "If I may?" Chuckling to himself, he calls Jessibel over, telling the bard, "Actually, it will show up better against your light skin." Then he points to Davina's face, specifically toward her nose.
Making an "Eww!!" face, Jessi swabs softly beneath the aasimar's nostrils, then holds up her finger: There's a trace of black there.
"The black mold from the sewer," T'chazzar informs the others. "We may have breathed some in during the fight. I believe this may well be the same mold used in drow poison and in the black smear used by the dark folk."
"Neat," Jessibel offers in a tone that indicates she thinks it's anything but. Taking out a handkerchief, the bard blows her nose and shows black mold residue on the cloth as well. She makes another face before using prestidigitation to clean both her finger and her handkerchief.
When your party climbs down into the sewers again, you realize you'll have to either traverse the area of black mold again or wallow through the sewage canal itself...unless you can remove the mold somehow.
Now that you're back in the sewers, you feel almost certain that you're in the same place you were when you awakened in the past in your shared dream! Yeah, a few things are different, but there had to be at least a few changes over a thousand years, right? Hey--perhaps the stolen pearls from your dream were never recovered! By your estimate...that building would be further north from the secret door, likely at the next sewer intersection.
"Mold can make people have the same dream? This just gets weirder and weirder. I dunno, I don't see a big deal with having the same dream again, I don't mind if we walk through the mold. Sounds better than mucking around in the sewer canal."
Once the group is back in the sewer, a realization dawns on Leora as she looks at the layout. "Hey, feels really weird to say this. But remember in our dream, they were talking about the stolen pearls? I think if we keep going north, towards the next intersection, we might be able to find them! We could check out the secret door first, though."
"What if we burn the mold? Should we try that before we walk through that stuff again. Someone must still have an Alchemist Fire. I made dozens of the things."
"Finding something that was left behind so long ago would be amazing. That would make a great mystery for my next book." she pulls out her ever present notebook and starts making notes.
Falina came down with Sabrinah and Jessi just as fashionably late and joined the conversation about the dream. "Strange dreams? Were you in Kintargo a few hundred years ago too?" She sat down at a table next to Sabrinah and ordered some food as she waited for a response.
SILVER STEIN INN (8 Gozran)
Jessibel plays the know-it-all again, saying she doubts the mold could have been responsible for the shared dream; she offers nothing to back up that assessment or any other theory, however. She also chimes in that maybe the mold could be washed away, as wet mold doesn't let loose a bunch of spores...or so she thinks. Her eyebrows rise in anticipation when Leora mentions the stolen pearls and the prospect of treasure.
Leora do you have Create Water as a spell. If we wet down the mold we should be able to pass. Good idea Jess." she continues to eat her breakfast.
"The spores of some molds can cause vivid hallucinations. Also there are some creatures that live very deep that have spores that induce... shared trances. Strange consciousness. The black mold may have given us a taste of such in that semi-lucid dream," explains the drow.
"I've heard that there are alchemical remedies for mold, but it's outside my area of expertise."
"Aww man, I don't have the create water spell today, Davina. But, we could just go back up above ground and bring some down. But yeah, I do still have this alchemist's fire you gave me awhile ago."
Sadly, she checks her bag again. Leora doesn't look thrilled to be bringing up this option. I mean... I guess I have some alcohol, we could use beer or wine instead of water. The alcohol in it might even kill some of the mold."
"I have oil and some incendiary arrows, that might help to try the fire approach from a safe distance." Arani suggests, while considering what if anything, she knew about underground molds.