Here we will begin our adventures in Otari!
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The small seaside town of Otari is known for its fresh fish and skilled sailors, but above all, it’s a big logging town, providing valuable wood to the nearby metropolis of Absalom. But for you, Otari is home. Perhaps you grew up playing on the docks, getting lost in the nearby woods, and hearing the fantastical stories of travelers from faraway lands, tales of terrifying dragons and virtuous knights. Such adventure always seemed so distant—until today!
Word has begun to spread around Otari that there’s a problem down at the Otari Fishery. Some are saying that some sort of beast is lurking in the basement, feeding on the stores of salted fish. Folks are worried that whatever is eating the fish might get hungry enough to eat the fishers next!
You received a letter from Tamily Tanderveil, the owner of the Fishery. Inside is a desperate plea for help. With the town guard busy protecting the loggers, she needs a few brave souls to venture down into the basement of her warehouse and put an end to the beast that’s feasting on her fish!
You have gathered with a few other adventurers in Tamily Tanderveil’s office, not far from the Thirsty Alpaca Tavern, where she has offered you ten gold pieces each if you could put an end to this menace. She was thrilled when you agreed to help her with this simple task, but you can’t help but wonder if this might be a lot more adventure than you bargained for.
Do you have the courage to face the menace under Otari?
The square silhouette of Biltri Gimhargruest stomps and clanks down the street. The intricately crafted iron clasps that decorate his long, black beard bounce against his burnished iron breastplate. "Just because I'm a blacksmith, she thinks I can go slay some fish-eating beast in some basement?" he mutters to himself. "I mean, I can, obviously, I am a dwarf... but the presumption!"
Biltri opens the door to Tanderveil's office (a little too forcefully). He stomps inside and asks, "Alright, Tamily, I'm here. Where are the others?"
He raises his face with its perpetual frown to look around the room.
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Kruppe finishes his pastry and spiced wine, wipes his mouth, tucks the handkerchief in a sleeve. His beard is full of sticky crumbs. He speaks to the barkeep, who isn't listening to the dwarf's rambling, third-person monologue. "Many say that Kruppe — especially those in his clan — is an avatar of sloth and neglect, inclined to excesses since returning from Scrolls in the Patchwork City, too weak to work the ships, too lazy to labor as a stevedore, too clumsy with the soup to serve as a palace steward… in fact, you might also say this, barkeep, as you carefully add the spiced wine to Kruppe's expansive tab…" now the barkeep is listening. Kruppe speaks faster. "… but you would be mistaken! Kruppe is gifted with talent, means, motive, and opportunity to generate income for himself. It is only that Otari has yet to recognize this new resource, ripe for exploitation. And thus, Kruppe and the barkeep must together face a singular, objective, and profane truth: Kruppe is broke."
He begins backing toward the door. "But Kruppe is also a noble soul, whatever others may think. And thus, to wipe clean the tab between Kruppe and the Thirsty Alpaca, he now ventures into the unknown dark to answer Tamily Tanderveil's call for help." He opens the door. "He sallies forth to risk life and limb, putting his keen mind and learning to good use for the town of Otari, in the spirit of humanoid fellowship, community, and fisheries free of vermin!"
It's blissfully quiet after the door slams shut.
--
The dwarf trundles over to Tamily’s fishery. Inside her office, he pulls a handkerchief from a sleeve and mops his brow, adjusts his threadbare jacket, and drops into the most comfortable chair. He stretches his short legs out and greets Tamly before turning to Biltri.
"Kruppe is happy to see another dwarf here. Wise Tamily has hired the best. And one with a sharp axe — it will pair well with Kruppe's deadly cantrips." He produces a pastry from a voluminous sleeve and munches on it as he rambles. Crumbs fall into his beard. "Kruppe would like to know how the blacksmithing industry is faring in Otari, though he knows there will be ample time to catch up after the job interview. Kruppe is sure Biltri, likewise, is looking forward to hearing his stories of schoolwork in Absalom. Why, Kruppe is even considering joining a guild of scholars called the "Pathfinders," if you can believe it." He offers Biltri a sleeve-pastry.
'When do the other sellswords arrive? Surely, it isn't only Kruppe and Biltri facing these monsters in the dark."
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He looks at the proffered pastry with the same unchanging scowl and slowly reaches for it. He takes it and hold it before his gaze as if examining a gemstone or a piece of iron work for flaws. Apparently satisfied with whatever internal calculus was performed, he takes a bite out of it.
"Mmm. Good," he says despite his expression suggesting otherwise if it had not existed long before the baked good entered his mouth. "Also good to see Tamily has sense enough to hire more than one dwarf if she wants the job done right."
Tamily stands up from her desk, where she was reading through a stack of letters, and greets the dwarves with a firm handshake.
"Biltri! Kruppe! I'm so glad you're able to help investigate this beast. It's been such a problem. The rumors have got my employees nearly too scared to work. Unfortunately, most folks are too busy to lend a hand." She gestures at the open letters on her desk. "Or, like my friend Lucius Caligari*, they can't stand the smell of fish."
She picks up a clipboard and crosses Lucius's name off a long list, most of which is already crossed out. But next to Kruppe and Biltri she adds a checkmark. There also appears to have been at least one question mark after Kruppe's name, which she hastily scribbles over.
"So, that means the, er, job interview is done, and you're both hired!"
She gives the dwarves a smile.
"But don't worry, there's a few others I'm still expecting to join the investigation. Fingers crossed!"
Shortly after Tamily says that, you hear a rattling sound and another dwarf comes in holding a slip of paper. The noise was obviously from the chain shirt he wears as armor.
With a faint frown, he says "Got yer note, Tamily. Hope I'm not interrupting?"
Seeing the other two dwarves, he nods and says "Bauxite, though most just call me Box. Priest of Desna."
"Bauxite?" Biltri says with a frown no more or less deep than usual. "Hmm. Desna? Hmm. There's a story there, I'd wager."
He mutters under his breath, "And more than a few shades more interesting than tales of schoolwork." The grunt that follows is audible enough.
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Smiling, he replies “Everyone has stories, some a lot more interesting than others.”
“Ma and Pa named all the kids fer rocks. Brother Flint an sister Ruby got the best names. I’m the youngest of the lot so far, born just when they needed to fix the floor. Least that is how I’m told it.”
“Better bauxite than cement!”
“As for Desna, I am more interested in travel than crafting.”
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”Job interview... bah!” exclaims a dwarf dressed in leathers as he steps out from behind the drapes which had served as his hiding location. ”Ain’t gonna be doin’ one of those. Either I am good enough for this job, or I ain’t.”
He walks over to Kruppe, handing him a small pouch with several small picks in it. ”Figger you might want these back. You should pay better attention to what’s goin’ on ‘round you. They practically fell into me hands there.
“There, now, Missy, either yer gonna hire Dethor, or not. What’s it t’ be?”
A cohort of gainfully-employed dwarves (Is there any other kind? Wise Kruppe thinks not.) — some with prosaic sobriquets, irascible proclivities, and dichotomous tendencies in thinking, traveling belowground to solve a mystery? All is as it should be in the world.
He raises an eyebrow at Dethor and then studies the pastries that are now somehow in each hand. Magnamous Kruppe deigns Dethor keep his new "toothpicks." Perhaps it is the imperative of fate, that mysterious and inexorable force that urges mortals ever on, that caused them to fall into Dethor's own pockets. Perhaps they are best left there, forgotten until some critical juncture in the future.
Further, Kruppe's hands are, at present, full.
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"What in the name of the seven hells did you just say?" asks Dethor in a raised voice. "Was you callin' me a criminal? Ye'd better watcher fancy mouth there, dwarf, afore I decides it needs a'shuttin'!"
Realizing that none of that was really an insult, Dethor continues, "
"Well, alls I really gots out of all dat high-falootin' book-speaks was to keep the picks. Well, don't mind if I do."
"Clearly there are other kinds as I counted at least two hitherto unemployed ones," Biltri comments dryly.
He raises an eyebrow at Dethor's ire, and it falls back to its furrowed position as it becomes clear there's not going to be an apology of fists.
Faced with Dethor’s ire, Kruppe spits pastry crumbs into his beard.
An honest dwarf would do well to avoid baseless accusations! Kruppe is such a one: filled with equanimity, a veritable seraphim. Angelic Kruppe would never accuse new friends without irrefutable proof (and perhaps deadly cantrips at his fingertips, to help carry the burden of proof). But that is neither here nor here.
Note further, Kruppe was never ‘unemployed’. Honest dwarf he is, he finds that state of being utterly revolting; diametrically opposed to everything he stands for as a paragon of dwarvenkind. To those uninitiated in the ways of scholars and mages, it may seem he was unscrupulously exploiting the goodwill of the Thirsty Alpaca, running up an exorbitant tab while he frittered away the afternoons drinking spiced wine in a state of destitution. In reality, he was plotting and planning, fueling his burning intellect with sugary wine lest it gutter and die, biding his time, conserving energy, still as a leopard, waiting for precisely the right moment to pounce.
Baux steps back, well out of the spray of pastry crumbs coming from Kruppe.
Looking towards the wordy dwarf, he says “Please, speak or eat. Not both at the same time.”
Tamily is quite shocked when Dethor steps out from behind the drapes.
"What? How long have you been hiding back there? Well, never mind now I guess." She checks the last two names off her list. "Now that you've all arrived, I'm happy to say you're all hired!"
She gives the group a broad smile.
"I trust you all know where the Otari Fishery is. Please make your way down to the basement and find out whatever it is that's been eating our fish. I'll be right here when you return. Best of luck!"
Looking towards the wordy dwarf, he says “Please, speak or eat. Not both at the same time.”
Kruppe takes out his handkerchief and dabs his sticky beard. "Kruppe wonders, perhaps even the most serene Ouat monk would splutter pastries if presented with similar circumstances. He thinks so, and is happy Dethor is on his side. And though he has no need of such false affectations as table manners in a monster-infested basement, he will strive to follow protocols for the sake of the common good.
"Ha!" Biltri suddenly bursts out at Kruppe's "joke." "That's a good one." His amused grin slides back into his face's resting scowl.
The stairs leading into the basement of the Otari Fishery creak with age as you make your way down to find the beast. In the center of the room, between stone pillars holding up the fishery overhead, are barrels filled with salted fish. Two of these barrels have been smashed open, spilling their contents on the floor. In the east wall is a large hole, opening into darkness.
Seeing the hole in the basement wall, Baux says “Well now, that shouldn’t be there!”
He cautiously approaches it, looking for any signs of a creature.
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Kruppe will inspect the broken barrels and improv about the local species of fish.
He knows a lot more about halibut and sturgeon than you'd think.
"That's what happens when you don't tend your walls in a timely fashion," Biltri remarks as he raises his shield and approaches the hole in the wall. "You get all kinds of pests sneaking in and eating your food."
Biltri and Box see piles of loose rock and dirt on the inside of the room. It looks like something has broken open the wall from the other side!
Dethor doesn't ssee anything interesting on the desks, but-
A strange chittering comes from the hole in the wall! Suddenly, a
massive rat the size of a dog emerges from the darkness—and it isn’t
alone! The giant rats rush toward you, their huge teeth snapping.
Biltri
Baux
Dethor
Rats!
Kruppe
Bold may act!
"Doubt these rats are what we are looking for..." Baux says as the large rodents come rushing forward.
"Go to sleep!" he demands in a powerful voice. He then brings his shield up in a defensive position.
"Oh no you don't!" Biltri shouts as the oncoming rat. "You all neither!"
He makes a cross cut with his axe at the first rat and then brings his axe down in an overhand chop. Biltri begins to smile as the violence commences. He lifts his shield back into place in time with Bauxite. "Aye. There we go."
Rat #1, so foolhardy but hungry, is skewered on Dethor's rapier!
Rat 3 seems much too hungry to sleep, but rat 4 falls unconscious!
Rat #2 tries to bite Biltri three times!
But is too weak with hunger...
Rat 3 moves forward, avoids Biltri's swinging axe, and tries to attack Bauxite!
Kruppe is up and then we're back to the top of the round.
Biltri
Baux
Dethor
Rats!
Kruppe
Bold may act!
Baux blocks the rat's bite with his shield.
He then gets out his Warhammer and tries to flatten the critter. He raises his shield to protect himself again. "Time ta crack some skulls!"
Kruppe tries to remember what he knows about these creatures.
"Who would have imagined a group of young adventurers battling a mischief of rats in a kindly neighbor's basement? Kruppe has never heard of such a thing. He thinks it is ridiculous. Further, these muroids seem particularly agile with their fangs and Kruppe dearly hopes, for Box's sake, they brush their teeth."
Kruppe flutters his handkerchief at the approaching rat. "Kruppe is no coward… but also wishes the starving rat stay back!"
A fractals of ice, mathematically precise, blossoms from Kruppe's player fingers and darts at the hungry rat!
–10-foot status to Speeds for 1 round if crit
"Less talk; more killing," Biltri says between grunts and swings of his axe. He keeps his shield ready to defend himself.
Bauxite's hammer misses rat #3, but Kruppe nearly kills it with a Ray of Frost. Biltri then lands the killing blow with his battle axe. Biltri takes another swing, this time at rat #2, but misses.
Biltri
Baux
Dethor
Rats!
Kruppe
Rat #1 and #2 still live!
Bold may act!
Biltri's frist swing misses, but he chops rat #1 in half with a critical hit from his battle axe (-14hp).
Baux attempts to put rats #3 and #4 to sleep with a spell, but #3 resists, while #4 falls asleep.
With rat #1 dead, Dethor instead throws his javelin at #2 and kills it (-10hp).
Rat #3 advances on Baux, who swings at it and misses.
Kruppe nearly kills it with a Ray of Frost (-6 hp).
Biltri then lands the killing blow with his battle axe (-4 hp).
Dethor then moves in on rat #4, the only rat remaining, and even without a flank, kills in in it's sleep (-12hp).
Out of combat!
Squeezing through the hole, you find yourselves in a cavern that seems to stretch endlessly beneath the streets of Otari. Who knows what menace could be lurking down here?
Up ahead, the passageway ends in a cliff that plunges sharply into the darkness.
Baux looks around in the basement for a few minutes but gives up when there is nothing more to be found than the smashed barrels.
Squeezing through the hole, he stops when he gets to the cliff face. Looking down he realizes it is only a short distance down.
Shaking his head, he says “Short enough distance, could just jump down. Thing is, that would leave me stuck if we gotta come back this way.”
He gets rope from his pack and ties it off. He checks that the rope is secure and then jumps down. He has no problem landing safely.
Baux ties his rope and jumps down easily.
Baux noticies his darkvision kicking in as beyond the cliff the caves are completely (dark unless otherwise noted).
The mushrooms in the lower part of the chamber look edible.
"Athletic little buggers," Biltri comments looking back at the rat corpses after looking over the cliff. He goes back to collect the giant rat corpses at the edge of the cliff.
"Look out," he warns the wanderer dwarf and then starts shoving the dead rats off the cliff without explanation.
After sliding his axe into his belt, he grips the rope and says, "I'll climb down."
The blacksmith rappels down the slick drop with aplomb. He stomps over to the corpses and begins tossing them to the side of the cave while waiting for the others to come down.
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Kruppe tries to climb down with a pastry in each hand… while also talking.
Biltri makes it safely down the cliff, but Kruppe, busy as he is with his eating and talking, doesn't make it down the wall at all.
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Kruppe balks, and then finishes one pastry. He peers below. It is easy for wise Kruppe to see in the dark; it holds no secrets! Does Kruppe spy chanterelles below? They pair most excellent with seared halibut. Why, if Kruppe had a pat of butter he would grease a pan forthwith!
Kruppe's pastry-smeared hand slips on the rope; he finishes the other pastry. Does Kruppe have a pan? No. Do his allies? Possibly. They should understand that Kruppe is known — to friends and strangers alike — as skilled with the skillet. Further, perhaps blind ruminants ruminate far below as well, feeding on glowing mycelia In the endless night. New horizons abound for the Underdark Chef, who otherwise sees none from his subterranean vantage. Such ruminants surely provide valuable protein for cavers, no doubt weary from their endless rope-climbing exercises.
He looks back at the barrels. Perhaps there are none, however. The cave system may be a barren, sandy wasteland. It would be wise for Kruppe to prepare adequately. This is the habit of all successful sell swords. Kruppe wonders if Tamily would mind lending him a fish. Surely not. He waddles back and takes a large halibut from a barrel, then puts it in his pack. He stands up and does a stretch, then dangles his feet over the edge.There are many aspects to magnificent Kruppe: scholar, scrollmaster, epigrammatist, baker, drinker of spiced wine, sesquipedalian. Culinarian is not the least of his titles. Gymnast? Krupp believes so as well. The athlete in his prime must have faith in himself to succeed.
He blows his nose in his handkerchief after slipping again. Confidence is the primary attribute of the excellent athlete; thus, a placebo to bolster Kruppe's own conviction is in order. Cerain schools of thought erroneously consider magic to be illegal performance-enhancement, but Kruppe knows his friends will not mind. He blows his nose in his handkerchief a second time, waggling his fingers under the silk cloth. After all is not Kruppe is known — to friends and strangers alike — for fighting fire with fire, for applying his expansive mind to solve those material problems that might stymie a lesser magus? Does he understand the Geometries of the Spheres, so that he might do with a finger what the mighty barbarian struggles to achieve? He is. He does.
Thus bolstered, Kruppe immediately tumbles down the cliff-face. He lands on his back with a loud THUD! And Kruppe understands the immutable laws of Nature too well, such as those of gravity, with admirable equanimity.
Oh no! Kruppe takes 5 points of damage from his fall!
"That's one way to get down," Biltri remarks in a deadpan tone. "You need anything patched up?"
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“Oh, that looks like it hurt!”
Shaking his head, Baux admits “I’m no good at climbing either, Kruppe. Let’s see if we can’t get you fixed up.”
He gets out his first aid kit and cleans Kruppe’s wound. “There, that should do it!”
The dwarf rubs his shoulder and nods gratefully. Kruppe is grateful for the ministrations of Box, soothing the results of that harsh force called "bad luck" by the uneducated ("Luck" is an illusion — it is all statistics.) Kruppe is trained in the arcane forces of transmutation and destruction, but not those of repairing contusions.
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Baux shakes his head at Kruppe’s comment about luck. “Afraid that I must disagree. Statistics is just an attempt to explain the divine forces of luck. Math can not explain the miracles that can be called forth.”
The tunnel continues deeper underground, eventually opening into a large chamber. Patches of glowing blue fungus cling to the ceiling and provide dim light.
Vast strands of webbing are barely visible across the floor and walls of this cavern, stretching between stalactites and creating shimmering curtains.
Biltri
Baux
Dethor
Kruppe
"Huh," Biltri grunts as he surveys the web covered cave. "I knew I kicked those corpses down here for a reason. Want me to get get a sacrifice for whatever made this webbing?"