Chance continues singing and launches a needle at the shark!
Jisara dispels the quickening magic on the shark and taps into Thatch’s magical reserves.
Vitalis hits the shark and then retreats and heals himself.
Edrakk swims over and heals Vitalis.
Menotheguro glances over at Vitalis and incants as he Casts a Spell.
A ray then fires from the aboleth’s tentacle at Vitalis!
Success
Vitalis feels his own strength being sapped from him, in much a similar way to what Jisara did to the shark.
The aboleth then glares at Edrakk. ”Your usefulness has ceased.” And then moves to slap a slimy tentacle at the tengu!
The aboleth then glances at the shark with intent in his three eyes.
Something in the shark’s eyes seems to shift. Thus far, the shark has been fighting with a strange calm and intention. Now, however, pure rage flashes across the shark’s eyes. The shark then turns and glares at Menotheguro! The shark then bites with ferocity at the aboleth!
This attack clearly catches the alghollthu off-guard, but Menotheguro quickly composes himself.
Round 8
==============
Menotheguro (-27)
Shark (-99) {enfeebled 2: Round 2 of 10}
Chance
Jisara
Vitalis (-32) {Enlarged; +2 vs mental; Fast Healing 8: Round 3 of 4; 2d8 persistent negative; 2d4 persistent poison; Enfeebled 1: Round 0 of 10}
Edrakk (-50) {drained 1; 4d8 persistent negative}
==============
Vitalis slumps as his strength is drained as yet another effect is piled on top of him. Nevertheless, he pushes back and refuses to give up. He readies himself to finish off the shark, but when it mysteriously turns and attacks the alghollthu, rather than stabbing the shark in the flank, he allows it to be a distraction and switches targets to the true enemy. He swims up and over the shark and swipes at the necromancer looming behind it.
"It seems your puppets don't like you pulling their strings."
Could've used that change of heart earlier, but I'll take it.
Sensing the shift in the battle's momentum, Jisara throws another spell, this time directly assaulting the aboleth's confidence. She then draws a protective barrier around herself, readying herself for the counterattack.
Chance grins at the change in the alghollthu's fortunes and celebrates with a change of his own inspiring tune, before shifting the melody into another spell, this one from his staff.
"When the shark bites,
Through your skin, pal,
You know he's broken
Free of your spell!
A magic halberd,
Has our Vitalis,
And it's embiggened,
Just like him!
Had us worried,
'Bout our friendly medic,
Bet he saved some poison,
Just for you!
Scary Jisara,
All bite and no bark
In your flippers
I'd rather
Rather face the shark!
I'm Fortunatoooooo
My friends call me Chance, yeah,
Now you stupid, nasty, squid-faced loooooser,
Show us,
Show us how you dance!"
Chance continues singing and launches a viscous assault at the aboleth!
Jisara sends a wave of fear at Menotheguro!
Vitalis moves over and hits Menotheguro once, but the aboleth dodges his second attack.
Edrakk…tries to undo Menotheguro’s negative draining.
Edrakk then pulls out a blight bomb.
Menotheguro glares at the shark, clearly saying something to it telepathically. The aboleth then Casts a Spell, though the manifestations of this spell seem different from before—the runes around him seem more chaotic and unpredictable.
The shark growls at the aboleth as it tries to shake off the alghollthu’s magic!
Menotheguro looks at the shark with shock and a twinge of actual fear. The aboleth then retreats back behind the illusory wall.
The shark growls in anger, but then begins coughing up its own blood. With a brief bit of concentration , the shark shrinks down in size into the form of an aquatic elf: Nerrenn, the elf that verbally assaulted the PCs when they first came to Acisazi!
Nerrenn struggles to find a bottle on his person as he is fighting Menotheguro’s influence. But he finally finds the bottle and pulls it out.
”Y’know, given how much you air-breathers beat the absolute s@@@ out of me, I think I deserve at least some of that healing magic you have!” He shakes his head. ”Whatever. The squid’s out of mind-controlling magic! Turn it into sushi for what it did to my home!”
Round 9
==============
Menotheguro (-50)
Nerrenn (-99) {enfeebled 2: Round 3 of 10}
Chance
Jisara
Vitalis (-43) {Enlarged; +2 vs mental; 2d8 persistent negative; 2d4 persistent poison; Enfeebled 1: Round 1 of 10}
Edrakk (-50) {drained 1}
==============
Vitalis is surprised, to say the least, that the shark was a not a shark but a man. "Nerrenn? What are you doing here?" He doesn't wait for an answer. "Never mind that. You beat me pretty good yourself. I have no healing ability left to give you. Wait in this chamber while we deal with Menotheguro and you should be safe enough."
"And don't go anywhere!" He emphasizes. "I have questions for you."
Vitalis turns to the party. "We can't let him escape. But be cautious. He could be leading us into a trap. He is a highly intelligent creature."
Vitalis swims after the necromancer and catches it with the reach of his halberd as it retreats.
"Chance, if you've got something that can weaken his mental defenses, now would be a really good time."
"You, get to safety," Jisara tells Nerrenn, slinging the last of her own healing magic at Vitalis's back. "We'll take it from here." She then takes off after the paladin, kicking for all she's worth.
"Not much, and nothing I can do from here!"
Chance grits his teeth and tries to swim closer to Jisara and the illusory wall.
The gnome flails around, churning the water but not managing to move anywhere. He gives up and starts to sing.
"Hey Vitalis!
Hope he can hear me
While he follows
Squiddy through the muck!
Swing that sharp halberd
It's still enlarged yeah
And slice it
Through that aboleth schmuck!
Jisara and Edraak,
You're right behind them
Just keep going
And give that jerk a smack!"
"Come on, Edrakk! You swim better than any of us!"
Chance continues singing and swims.
Jisara swims over and begins healing Vitalis.
Vitalis swims forward and attacks the alghollthu!
Edrakk Swims twice, going through the wall, and Battle Medicines himself.
Menotheguro glares at Vitalis and lashes out with his tentacles!
The aboleth then Swims away again.
"You, get to safety," Jisara tells Nerrenn, slinging the last of her own healing magic at Vitalis's back. "We'll take it from here." She then takes off after the paladin, kicking for all she's worth.
”Like hell!” Nerrenn chugs the contents of the bottle in his hand as his wounds close.
The elf then tosses the bottle aside. ”This thing has had me under its control for…I don’t even know! I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and let you four take the credit! Soqile moret!”
Nerrenn Casts a Spell and once more transforms into the shape of a shark!
Round 10
==============
Menotheguro (-71)
Nerrenn (-78; +15) {enfeebled 2: Round 4 of 10}
Chance
Jisara
Vitalis (-42) {Enlarged; +2 vs mental; 2d8 persistent negative; Enfeebled 1: Round 2 of 10; Fast Healing 8: Round 1 of 4}
Edrakk (-22) {drained 1}
==============
Surprised at his surge through the water, Chance continues to sing his inspiring song, then tries to heal more of Nerrenn's wounds.
"You want to get back into the fight? Take me with you! I could help a lot better if I can get closer but I’m a terrible swimmer!" If Nerrenn agrees, the gnome tries to grab onto a less-visibly wounded part of the shark's fin.
◆: Cast a spell, inspire courage
◆: Battle Medicine,
◆: Mount (Grab Fin)
Vitalis continues to give chase. Unfortunately the alghollthu swims much better than he does. Unable to get close enough to hit the creature again, he cuts short of its tentacle's reach. If I can't hit it, let's not let it hit me.
Vitalis hopes his allies are able to continue their forward progress. He does not want to be caught in the necromancer's den alone.
Jisara struggles through the water to the far side of the illusory wall. She summons a shield into place around herself as she catches sight of their quarry once again.
Chance patches up Nerrenn’s wounds and begins riding him.
Jisara and Vitalis begin swimming after Menotheguro.
Edrakk Swims twice and pulls out another dread ampoule.
Menotheguro Swims over to reposition and Casts a Spell. Several tendrils of pure darkness then extend out from the alghollthu and pierce through Vitalis and Edrakk!
Success
Failure
Vitalis interposes himself as he takes the brunt of the alghollthu’s magic!
Nerrenn glares at Chance for grabbing his dorsal fin, but the elf-turned-shark does not make a significant effort to shake him off. Nerrenn then swims through the illusory wall at insane speeds. Nerrenn makes no effort to help Chance ride him, and the gnome eventually loses his grip on the shark!
Round 11
==============
Menotheguro (-71)
Nerrenn (-70; +15) {enfeebled 2: Round 5 of 10}
Chance
Jisara
Vitalis (-46) {Enlarged; +2 vs mental; 2d8 persistent negative; Enfeebled 1: Round 3 of 10; Fast Healing 8: Round 2 of 4}
Edrakk (-22) {drained 1; 1 persistent bleed}
==============
Vitalis grimaces at the blast of negative energy but, at this point, he's weathered far worse. He takes the opportunity of Menotheguro's proximity to return the attack.
Vitalis pierces his halberd into the creature's rubbery flesh like a harpoon and yanks its immense bulk back towards himself. "Going somewhere?" He taunts. Then, brushing aside its flailing tentacles, he wrenches the weapon free and jams it into its body again.
At this point, Vitalis would have back paddled out of reach, but the aquatic elf, Nerrenn, foolishly chose to re-engage the enemy, and Vitalis being the champion that he is, isn't about to move out of the way for an ally to take the hits.
Cursing up a storm as she fights through the water, Jisara finally gets the monster in her sight.
"Enough of this," she snarls, and sends something hurtling through the space between her and Menotheguro.
Edrakk swims forward, hiding behind the enlarged paladin, before kicking off the ground in a swift motion to appear by Menotheguro and throw the bomb in his hand.
Chance, if you could try and intimidate him to give this just a little bit more likelihood of landing, I would really love that.[/ooc]
Chance continues his inspiring song for a few notes before screwing up his face into a snarl. The red-faced gnome fills his lungs with air water, and shouts at Menotheguro:
Chance ducks against the rocky wall of the cavern.
Chance screams at the alghollthu, then hides behind a rock.
Jisara swims over and sends a pure, heart-stopping horror at Menotheguro!
Vitalis tears hard into the alghollthu, but it is still up!
Edrakk swims forward and throws a bomb, but completely misses.
Menotheguro, on the verge of life, Casts a Spell in desperation as he completely vanishes!
The Alghollthu then tries to Sneak away, but doesn’t account for a) Jisara’s see invisibility, and b) his own immense size. The aboleth attempts to swim upwards to go over Edrakk’s head in an attempt to escape!
Nerrenn is having no more of the aboleth’s shenanigans and immediately gives chase, biting at the open water where the PCs know the aboleth to be.
A thick cloud of purple blood fills the area around Nerrenn as Jisara observes the shark tear into the invisible body of the alghollthu, while the rest of the PCs can only make educated guesses that that is happening.
The PCs just watch as Nerrenn continues to completely obliterate the alghollthu’s carcass until his own magic wears off and he ceases to be a shark. Even as Jisara observes the dead aboleth’s body sink to the sea floor, Nerrenn continues to bite at the empty space where the aberration was—Nerrenn’s rage and Menotheguro’s invisibility keeping Nerrenn from realizing that he’s not even hitting anything.
Chance looks around, eyes more than a little wild. "Are there any more algollthu around here, Nerrenn? What else wants to kill us down here? Do you know where Menotheguro's lair is?"
He pauses his questions just long enough to cast soothe on each of Nerrenn and Vitalis , just in case another hostile shows up to kill them all.
Vitalis isn't about to chance getting bitten by a frenzied shark so he wisely stays back until Nerrenn's rage wears off.
Do you know where Menotheguro's lair is?"
"Wait? You think this isn't his lair?"
Vitalis starts to look around. "So...does it feel like this place is any less cursed yet? Was Menotheguro the source or do we need to sanctify the area or something?"
Chance looks around, eyes more than a little wild. "Are there any more algollthu around here, Nerrenn? What else wants to kill us down here? Do you know where Menotheguro's lair is?"
Nerrenn begins picking at his teeth with his nails. ”No more of ‘em.
Vitalis starts to look around. "So...does it feel like this place is any less cursed yet? Was Menotheguro the source or do we need to sanctify the area or something?"
Nerrenn spits out a chunk of invisible alghollthu meat. ”Take a look around and ask me that again.”
As the PCs finally take in their surroundings, they find that the walls of this underwater cave are etched with thousands of strange, twisted runes, creating a tangled, multilayered mess of writing. The runes glow and pulse with soft green light, giving a sickly atmosphere to the chamber. Over two dozen decaying elven bodies float here and there in the murky water, adding to the cave’s already grim ambience.
Nerrenn folds his arms. ”Dunno what a quarter of this stuff means, but I’m almost sure that it’s the center of the curse.”
A waterproof golden hip flask set with an opal stopper worth 75 gp, containing a truth potion.
A silver pillbox inset with a miniature depiction of a woman with two heads (one human, one gargoyle-like) worth 60 gp.
A set of boots of bounding
A +1 ready chain shirt.
A +1 striking crushing maul
Inventory Updated
"What a nightmare..." Jisara says, mostly to herself, as she takes in the sight of Menotheguro's lair and the victims contained within. Eventually, she turns her attention to the runes and swims to where she can get the best view of most of them.
"This will take some time to puzzle out before I can begin to unravel the curse. But with him dead, I think we have enough."
As Jisara studies these runes in a process that takes hours, she realizes that these runes are magically connecting the Drowned Eye with the Negative Energy Plane. Not on Worldwound levels of planar tearing, but enough for the negative energy in the area to cause a higher-than-average number of undead to rise here. It’s likely that the malady afflicting Acisazi is a side effect of the runoff negative energy from this place.
Some of the runes appear to have been more recently made in an attempt to focus the negative energy into the creation of a single, powerful undead, but is still a work-in-progress.
One particular rune that’s on a spur of rock protruding from the east wall appears to be the center of the strange network, acting as a sort of keystone. Get rid of that rune and the whole network falls apart. And getting rid of it is as simple as defacing the stone that the rune is carved into. One mention of that and Vitalis is able to chip away at the rune until the strange glow of the entire network suddenly dissipates, and as it does, the oppressive pall in the atmosphere vanishes.
*
”It has been done.” Elder Quhurill says to the PCs as they arrive back to her abode in Acisazi with both Nerrenn and Aava. ”The waves sigh in relief. It will be some time before the waves can rid themselves of the pollution already in them, but without black magic being added, it is only a matter of time before nature takes its course.
“Even so, the waves are grateful for your actions, and has provided you with something.” Elder Quhurill opens her hands to reveal a droplet of water that seems to magically hold its shape into that of a perfect sphere the size of a golf ball. ”A greater perfect droplet. They insisted that you have it. And I speak for all of Acisazi when I say that we are forever in your debt. If there is anything you would have us do, please do not be afraid to ask.”
”It has been done.” Elder Quhurill says to the PCs as they arrive back to her abode in Acisazi with both Nerrenn and Aava. ”The waves sigh in relief. It will be some time before the waves can rid themselves of the pollution already in them, but without black magic being added, it is only a matter of time before nature takes its course."
"L-let's hope so." Edrakk says as he wrings water out of his feathers. He has observed that his usual strategy of shaking himself dry, while more efficient, causes some discomfort to those around him, so he has been forced to use other methods."Even without magic, I've seen pollution do some nasty stuff over long periods, but it should bounce back eventually."
“Even so, the waves are grateful for your actions, and has provided you with something.”[/b] Elder Quhurill opens her hands to reveal a droplet of water that seems to magically hold its shape into that of a perfect sphere the size of a golf ball. ”A greater perfect droplet. They insisted that you have it. And I speak for all of Acisazi when I say that we are forever in your debt. If there is anything you would have us do, please do not be afraid to ask."
"Ooh!" Edrakk scoops up the droplet into his hands and begins to prod it with his talons. "Magically sustained surface tension... incredible. I wonder how permeable the membrane is, would it be able to take in solutes through osmosis? Or would that damage the surface tension..." He continues rambling various questions and conjectures about its properties to himself before remembering who he's addressing and looking back up to Quhurill. "We're h-happy to be of help."
“...And I speak for all of Acisazi when I say that we are forever in your debt. If there is anything you would have us do, please do not be afraid to ask.”
While Edrakk examines the greater perfect droplet, Chance bows to Elder Quhurill. "Thank you, Elder. We value your friendship and that of your people most highly. I hope that we are never forced to call upon that friendship for aid, but I believe that day may come, and sooner than we would like. We fear that the current ruler of Kintargo may try to bring in outside forces by sea or by land, to crush the spirits of the Kintargan people. It is unlikely that they will come this way, but if you see any sign of Chelish forces heading for Kintargo, we would be grateful for any warning you could give us.
"It is more likely that any forces brought in from outside will come by a different route. If they do, we may send you a message requesting your assistance. All we can ask is that if we do send you such a message, please provide whatever aid you can."
"We are more than glad to help, Elder Quhurill. When we heard of your plight, we could let stand by and let you suffer it alone. Again, I apologize for our delay in arriving; we cannot bring back anyone who died in that time; but I hope our ultimate victory will offer some comfort."
"As Chance said, we are fighting a battle for the freedom of Kintargo. We are not looking to drag outsiders into our war, but at the same time, we would like to keep the fight isolated and prevent the lord-mayor from bringing in outside reinforcements as well. Since your people have an eye on Kintargo's coast, any aid that would keep Chelish ships from arriving at Kintargo's port would support us immensely. I know that your people are diminished from the plague, so do not put yourselves directly in harms way if not necessary. Even giving us warning would be useful."
"As for, Nerrenn, we did not get a chance to question whether he betrayed your people to the alghollthu or if he was controlled by it against his will all along, but if judged, I ask that you go lenient on him, as in the end, he aid allowed us to secure victory against the necromancer in a very dire situation."
"I'm afraid we cannot stay long. We have other avenues to secure and very little time to do so."
Elder Quhurill ponders for a moment. ”We are little more than a small village. I will be sure that we keep our eyes and ears open for a Chelish mobilization. We also have some connections with other aquatic elf settlements in the Arcadian Ocean. It will take some time, but we could possibly build up a force to assist in an effort for Kintargo’s freedom. As I said, we are in your debt.”
Jisara nods her head solemnly in acknowledgement of the Acisazi's gift. "We were glad to help put an end to Menotheguro's atrocities against your people." She considers adding more, but refrains from belaboring the point. She is the first to return to the ship, Thatch following closely behind her.
When the others arrive, they find Jisara sitting in her quarters, attacking salt-encrusted knots of hair with a stiff brush, with Thatch dozing on the desk nearby.
"I would like," she says, not looking away from a compact mirror propped up on her familiar's belly, "if we could return to Kintargo soon or, failing that, to our business in Vyre. All this time in the great outdoors is making me homesick for the snug confines of the Nursery."
*
*
*
After resting for the night, the captain of the PCs’ ship set sail for Vyre in a journey that took about three and a half days; by the time the PCs arrive in the City of Masks, it’s late in the afternoon.
Vyre does not seem to have an extensive port like Kintargo does, so finding a place to moor for a length of time was rather difficult. As they finally enter the city, the first thing the PCs notice is a statue of a man with horror across his face. Engraved at the statue’s base is the following:
I shall honor all coin
I shall speak many names
I may wound yet shall not kill
I know none are below me
I shall let closed doors remain closed
The PCs know that Vyre is something of an oddball among Chelish cities—it is practically its own sovereign city-state, as House Thrune rarely interferes with Vyre’s own governing. The governing is instead left to a hidden council of self-styled kings and queens. Unfortunately, Vyre’s culture is primarily centered around privacy, so few know the kings’ and queens’ identities.
Because of this, the PCs realize the true difficulty is not convincing a leader of Vyre to give Kintargo aid, but rather finding a leader to convince.
The PCs know few in this town and will have difficulty making connections, but they do have one place to start: during their exploration of the Lucky Bones, they found several deeds to waterfront warehouses in Vyre that name one Molly Mayapple as their legal owner.
As the PCs ask around, they discover that Ms. Mayapple owns one of the most financially successful hostels in the Vice district: the Seven Apples.
”Molly? Yeah, I’ll get her.”
The hostel employee excuses himself as he goes to find the establishment’s proprietress. A couple minutes later, the employee returns with an elderly halfling woman with a warm smile on her face.
”Haha! Some adventurers, I see! I know your lot immediately! Well, you’ve come to the right place; little ol’ Molly here knows places for y’all to get you going. So, what can I do ya for?”
Jisara bows slightly, an act mimicked by Thatch at her feet.
"Pleased to meet you, Molly. I am Jisara, of Kintargo. Is there a place we could talk in private?"
"Pleased to meet you, Molly. I am Jisara, of Kintargo. Is there a place we could talk in private?"
"Um...sure? We can talk in my room if that's better."
Molly leads the PCs to a small apartment room that the PCs can only presume to be Molly's personal quarters. Along the way, the halfling got the attention of two humans—a man and a woman—who follow closely behind.
"Don’t y’all mind Happly and Letticia; I ain’t no spry flower anymore and I wanna have some people I can trust behind closed doors. Anything y’all have to say to me can be said to them. Now, uh, what is it that y'all wished to discuss?”
Chance follows Molly and the others to her rooms and introduces himself. "Nice to meet you! I'm Fortunato Pineapple-Umbria Phantasmagorius Ravennablitz but my friends call me Chance! I'd be interested in hearing about places for adventurers to ... get going? But we just got here! And we have things to do here before we leave. And anyway, I think we might have found something of yours in Kintargo."
Molly smirks wryly and glances at Happly and Letticia, as if to say “Are you hearing this?”
”Now listen here, buster brown, this ol’ granny weren’t born yesterday. I mighta been a fool for gettin’ hitched to my second husband, but those day’s’re behind me. I ain’t never been to Kintargo, so I couldn’ta left nothing there.”
Edrakk studies the base of the statue with some interest, writing down the Five Promises word-for-word. "These all seem pretty reasonable, I-I guess. Doesn't say what his fate was, though, and I can't see any visible injuries..."
While he seems intimidated by the two bodyguards, he does his best to stay focused. "E-Edrakk." he says as he starts to pull out his notes. "I-It looked like they might've been stolen. It was a s-set of deeds for some warehouses and waterfront properties, I think."
Molly scoffs. ”Warehouse deeds? What gopher hole did y’all pull that outta? I don’t know nothing ‘bout…no…” Suddenly, Molly’s face pales as she stares off into the distance. ”…deeds…?”
The halfling’s eyes start shifting as the woman’s mind is clearly racing. Happly and Letticia look at Molly with concern, but before they can interject she mutters ”Show me…”
Molly Mayapple then regains her composure and stiffens her gaze at the PCs as she places a firm hand on the crossbow at her hip. ”Listen, y’all, Imma say this once: if this is some kinda joke that y’all thought’d be funny to play on an 81-year-young slip,” She spits that last word with almost as much venom as is on Edrakk’s person. ”Then y’all have another thing coming, ‘cuz I ain’t laughin’! So either put up or shut up; show me these deeds now or get outta my hostel!”
Vitalis interposes himself between the two parties and holds up his hands indicating to them to stop.
"Hold up, Molly. There's been a misunderstanding. We're not looking to extort you here. We came across these documents when clearing out the Gray Spiders' old den in Kintargo. Lorelu was planning on using them against you but they're long dead now."
"We have no use for the deeds except as a first contact in the city. We are allies of Kintargo and have business with the leaders of Vyre, but I'm embarrassed to say we came ill prepared for our task. We will return the deeds to you expecting nothing in return. But perhaps they'd earn us some goodwill and you could enlighten us with some information about the city to point us in the right direction. I have a feeling that you are someone who's business is to know the right people."
He turns to his friends. "Please hand her the documents."
Molly flips through the ledger that the PCs found in the Lucky Bones. ”No…It can’t…” She places a hand over her mouth as she looks at each of the PCs, tears welling in her eyes. ”Y’all really…these are…but they…’S-scuse me…” Molly grabs the ledger and holds it close to her chest as she makes a quick exit out of the room.
Several minutes pass, with Happly and Letticia questioningly whispering to each other. Finally, Molly returns. Her eyes are red and puffy, but a massive smile is spread across her face, to the point where the sides of her mouth are almost twitching as she tries to smile wider that she physically can.
”Please, sit.”
Molly sits down on her bed, placing the ledger of deeds on her lap. ”Let me start from the beginnin’,
“I…didn’t grow up good. My parents were a coupla wererats that I never really knew—so am I. A wererat, that is. And so’re Happly and Letticia, here—”
“Molly!”
Molly glares at Happly and gives a stern ”Shush!” She turns back to the PCs. ”Don’t mind ‘im; folks don’t take kindly to our kind, so we gotta stick together. But I know y’all don’t care. Y’all’re those Raven folks from Kintargo, yeah?” She chuckles as she motions to Vitalis’s armor. ”I suppose that’s clear as crystal now, but I was more worried ‘bout not accident’ly pattin’ this one on the back that I didn’t put two and two together. Plus, y’know, Hellknight.
“Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. So, I didn’t live a good life. Then one day, in my younger years, the King of Delights’s twin daughters were taken by some thugs and holed up in an abandoned church of Calistria. It were a full moon, and, well, they weren’t expectin’ an eight-foot-tall wererat. Haha. Anyway, the King of Delights gave me these deeds as thanks. But…there was a break-in. They took everything—the deeds, my savings, everything.
“I…I couldn’t do anything. I was ruined. I couldn’t afford rent, so they evicted me. And if anyone tells ya that halfling’s’re always lucky, tell ‘em to shove it, ‘cuz I sure as hell weren’t lucky! The King of Delights died and was replaced by a slip-shoutin’ piece of work, so I couldn’t get any help from ‘im. I endured two terrible marriages and one with the love of my life who died too soon by damned Thrunies.
“But I decided I had enough—I weren’t lucky and I weren’t goin’ to be. I slowly rebuilt my life through…less than honest means. And that were hard given my age. But now I own this here hostel, and I help travelin’ adventurers find some int’restin’ sights in Vyre. I can’t get much better than where I am—it’s difficult gettin’ sympathy as a halfling and a wererat. Thankfully Vyre’s Vyre, so I didn’t get as much trouble as I might’ve in some place like Westcrown. It ain’t a comfy life, but it makes ends meet. Sometimes.
“But this?” She pats the ledger of deeds. ”This’ll change everything. I ain’t got long left ‘til Pharasma comes a-knockin’, but with these…I can at least leave something to Happly and Letticia and the rest o’ my mischief. They may not be blood, but family's family.”
Molly jumps off her bed and goes into a corner of the room. She pulls aside some floorboards and hefts a bulky sack from beneath the floorboards. She tosses the sack at Vitalis. The paladin reaches inside—revealing the bag to be an extradimensional space—and is shocked to pull out a massive fistful of gold coins!
Vitalis, being the altruistic man that he is, begins to give the sack back to Molly. ”Don’t.” Molly places the ledger of deeds under the floor where the bag was and begins putting the floorboards back. ”With these deeds, I can make that back by spring. I don’t need it no more. It’s the least I could do.”
Chance very carefully closes the edge of the bag of holding around the coins and slips the bag from Vitalis's hands before the paladin does anything unthinkable, like trying to refuse the reward. "We accept your generous gift, Lady Molly, with our thanks. I can assure you that we will put it to good use against ... ah, our common enemy." The gnome tries shaking the strangely light sack, just for the satisfaction of so many jangling coins, but the bag is silent, without even the sensation of shifting weight. He opens it to check, sees the gold glinting back up at him, and closes it back up again with a sigh.
Recovering himself, he adds, "It would be almost as helpful, of course, if you could assist us with some introductions to others whose interests would be aligned with ours?"
Vitalis accepts the gold. He notices Chance's interest in the sack and hands it over to him. "I am glad we could help. If it is resolved that we've come as friends, perhaps we could sit somewhere comfortable to continue our conversation?"
"I do have one question to start off. When we arrived, we came across the statue with the five promises. Most are self explanatory. But what does it mean by "I shall speak many names"? I noticed that you referred to one as the King of Delights. Should we assume aliases while in Vyre?"
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"I do have one question to start off. When we arrived, we came across the statue with the five promises. Most are self explanatory. But what does it mean by "I shall speak many names"? I noticed that you referred to one as the King of Delights. Should we assume aliases while in Vyre?"
”Ah, yeah, the Five Promises. Those’re the only real ‘laws’ we have here in Vyre. ‘I shall speak many names’ means this: if someone tells ya that they’re the king o’ Taldor, then they’re the king o’ Taldor. If someone tells ya a name, accept it and move on. If they don’t wanna tell ya their real name, then that’s their problem, not yours; don’t dig any deeper. Unfortunately, that makes this city a haven for the church o’ Norgorber—or that’s the rumor, ‘cuz, y’know, Norgorber.
“The five kings and queens, though, those’re people; they’re Vyre’s rulers. The titles occasionally change hands, and no one really knows if one of them is a ‘king’ or a ‘queen’ or something in between. But word spreads, so we take what spreads. Right now, there’s the Queen of Whispers, the Queen of Blades, the King of Keys, the Queen of Blood, and the Queen of Delights. Sometimes whether they’re a king or queen changes year to year or conversation to conversation, but what they’re king or queen of stays the same. Conversations about ‘em right now generally have it as four queens and one king, but that may change tomorrow.”
Recovering himself, he adds, "It would be almost as helpful, of course, if you could assist us with some introductions to others whose interests would be aligned with ours?"
Molly thinks for a moment. ”I…might actually be able to help there. Y’see, four of Vyre’s rulers—Whispers, Blades, Keys, and Blood—ain’t the types of folks y’all’ll wanna make friends with, by and large. The Queen of Delights, though, she’s different. The King or Queen of Delights looks over Vyre’s economy and the interests of its visitors; they’re sorta like public relations. I happen to be on good terms with the current Queen of Delights she’s been a nice change after the last few were such disappointments. She holds monthly banquets to connect with the citizens—share a meal, air grievances, jockey for favor, and so on. Granted, she don’t just let anyone come, but I could prob’ly pull some strings and bring y’all as guests.
“The next banquet is sundown on the solstice—that’s…three days? Jeez, is it already the 18th? Golly, time sure flies. That should prob’ly give y’all enough time to get prepared, ‘cuz, uh…” Molly motions towards Vitalis’s armor. ”That ain’t gonna cut it. It’s a party, and y’all will wanna be, y’know, presentable. Go over to the Opal Market and get a nice dress or suit. And prob’ly a gift for the hostess—come in with nothing or something cheap, and the Queen’ll prob’ly see ya as cheap. But also don’t get her ten gold bars or something—you’re givin’ a gift, not a bribe. I know she likes spiders, onyx jewelry, and fine mead, but the current Queen of Delights is well-enough known that y’all could prob’ly ask around about other stuff she likes.
“This one prob’ly goes without sayin’, but y’all should treat the Queen and her guests with respect, even if some o’ ‘em are (and pardon my Orcish) pieces o’ sh*t. Also—and look at me. Look at me—don’t (and I’ll say it again) don’t don’t DON’T! Do not! At all! Bring up religion to the Queen of Delights. Don’t. That’s the one thing for her banquets. Keep your faith to yourself. Got it?
“Now, y’all can stay here for the time bein’—it’s on the house. But, y’all’ll really need to work on y’all’s outfits. Opal Market is open, and I’ll help out when I can, but I have a business to run, so no promises.”
Stands up joyously. "Alright! Let's go shopping! I could use a new embroidered suit. I haven't been able to wear one in ages. Maybe something with roses if I'm going to keep my holy symbol at home."
Vitalis would prefer to shop as a group than to split up in an unfamiliar city. He'll leave his hellknight plate at the The Seven Apples so that he can have his suit properly measured and fitted for him. He'll still keep his weapon with him, just in case.
"I-I'm not quite sure what kind of clothing to get, honestly. I-It's been a while since I've needed to wear anything too formal, so I-I guess I'll just look around and see what I kind find?" Edrakk searches around the shops, trying to find some suitable formalwear , and as he looks around, tries to make some discrete inquiries into anything the Queen might appreciate as a gift.
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For the outfit, general benchmarks are that 1 sp is regular clothing, 2 gp is fine clothing, and 55 gp is high-fashion fine clothing. I will leave it to your discretion as to what you want to wear to the banquet and how expensive it is.
The gift is slightly more complex. As Molly mentioned, you want to buy something that isn’t too inexpensive to be perceived as cheap, but not so expensive that you’re basically bribing the Queen of Delights. I won’t tell you exactly what that range is, but I will give you one hint: Chance’s idea of a clockwork spider bomb (a 100 gp item) is too expensive. Remember, y’all just got 500 gp of money; you wouldn’t blow 20% of your paycheck on a “small gift.” Other than that, just spend the money and describe what the gift is; Vyre’s a big enough city that there are plenty of choices. And, obviously, you all can’t just get her the same thing.
Chance, Edrakk, and Jisara ask around about the Queen of Delights’s interests but don’t get much better information of her likes than what they already knew (spiders, onyx jewelry, and fine mead).
Vitalis, on the other hand, does get some much better information: apparently the Queen of Delights has a liking toward lacy gloves and flowers with black petals.
Upon learning about the queen's fancy for flowers, the next day Vitalis inquires about a florist in the area that he can purchase flowers from and then questions the florist about black petaled flowers that would be appropriate for a gift. He wants to make sure he doesn't accidentally purchase funeral flowers or anything that might be construed as insulting. He gives the florist 10 gp for a bouquet to be picked up the morning before the banquet so that they are fresh.
Chance follows Vitalis's lead and buys himself a fancy suit for the party in the current Vyre style. He spends another 10gp on a huge black hat with a wide brim and a loooong, poofy red feather sticking out of the band around the crown. "The thing is," he explains to the other Silver Ravens, "for some reason, people - especially posh types (no offense, Vitalis!) - expect gnomes to be outlandish. So I can't show up at a party like this looking like I'm just a shorter, cuter version of Vitalis, or they'll be all 'Who does he think he is?' and 'Look who's putting on airs' and 'I like gnomes for the same reason I like halflings, it's easy to hide their bodies.' But when I show up looking like a shorter, cuter Vitalis, but with a ginormous hat with an even more ginormous feather sticking out of it and now I'm just that wacky gnome who probably isn't going to summon some tentacled horror into your bedroom. And I won't, because I haven't quite gotten the hang of that spell yet."
While the tailor makes the final adjustments to his new suit, Chance wanders the Opal Market and picks up a few odds and ends while he hunts for a gift for the Queen of Delights. He finds what he thinks is the perfect gift in the shop of a maker of custom jewelry and accessories: a brass scepter with a handle in a stylized spider shape, a small onyx stone forming the center .
High-fashion fine clothing, 55gp
Scroll of mage armor to cast before the banquet, 4gp
Sleeves of storage, solving Chance's encumbrance problem, 100gp
Feather token (tree), 38gp
Scroll of invisibility sphere, 30gp
Snapleaf, which Chance immediately affixes to his armor, 9gp
Gift for the Queen of Delights, 15gp
I blocked out 200gp to cover costs during our next lengthy downtime for learning spells and Jisara's next round of crafting, and still have a fair amount of cash left over in addition to that. I'll use it for another attempt at casting a higher level Elemental Sentinel ritual back in Kintargo unless someone has a better idea.
Jisara, suddenly in possession of more money than she'd ever even seen, is initially at a loss for how to spend it. Fortunately, after spending some time in the company of Chance during his own shopping, she receives some inspiration. She disappears into the shop of a women's tailor for several hours, before emerging with a tightly wrapped bundle of clothing and an uncharacteristic smile on her face. She follows it up with some more practical purchases: a magic wand, a rod capped with steel at each end, and access to the spellbook of a wizard willing to rent it to her for a few hours. Finally, toward the end of the day, she stops in front of the stall of a merchant selling a number of clockwork curiosities and purchases a wind-up toy made to look like a spider.
Not a bad day, Jisara thinks, as they head back to their temporary residence.
*
*
”Don’t wanna seem too eager, but we also don’t wanna seem too passive. What do the rich folk call it? ‘Fashionably late’? And here we are: Cobweb Manor.”
At Molly’s request, the PCs do not arrive at the Queen of Delights’s abode until almost exactly sundown—which is when the dinner is scheduled to begin.
Cobweb Manor stands at the fringes of the Opal Market, and is an ancient and decrepit-looking building that is, as the name suggests, covered with cobwebs from an unusual number of dusty-gray, fist sized spiders that scurry across the building’s eaves and foundation stones.
”Don’t mind the spiders. Let’s go, y’all.”
Molly leads the way to the manor, and when the group gets closer to the front door, they are met by a lumbering, 7-foot-tall figure with pale skin and terrible scars juxtaposed against the awkward-fitting monkey suit. The figure attends the door, and when the group flashes their invitations, the figure merely nods and steps out of the way.
Molly turns back to the group. ”Okay, remember: y’all be on your best behavior. And no church talk!” She moves to go inside before abruptly turning around again. ”Shoot! One more thing: the Queen’s husband will be in attendance; don’t talk to ‘im. Let’s go!”
Leaving little time for further explanation, Molly directs the group inside Cobweb Manor. The inside of the building is surprisingly clean compared to its exterior—at least, the ground is. The ceilings, draped with sheets of cobwebs, hold numerous chandeliers lit by magic, while the wood-paneled walls are decorated with many erotic paintings of subjects quite varied and scandalous in nature. Little is left to the imagination in these works of art, though in several, the same dark-haired, crimson-eyed, horned beauty seems to be placed in a position of prominence.
Molly leads the PCs into a large hall, the focus of which is a sprawling table capable of seating two dozen guests, of which several have already taken their seats. The head of the table (furthest from where the PCs enter) has a lavish, empty throne. Seated at the other end of the table (nearest to where the PCs enter) is a gentleman with a large top hat. Molly moves over and takes her seat, and it is only upon closer inspection that the PCs realize that the gentleman in a top hat is actually a slumped, dusty, and unmoving skeleton clad in fine clothing at least a decade out of date.
The other guests exchange small talk with one another, none of them even acknowledging the skeleton.
Vitalis arrives dressed in his newly purchased outfit: a tailored black suit embroidered with red roses. In the crook of his arm he holds his black bouquet and critiques the manor that he stands before. "Are we visiting a queen or a witch? If I didn't know differently, from the outside, I'd have assumed this building was condemned. Nobles are known for their eclectic tastes but this one is certainly up there."
He is equally confused by the bizarre doorman. "I didn't think this was a costume party. I can't tell if the ape suit is intended to make him more intimidating or more welcoming. Or maybe our host just has a sense of humor."
Inside, Vitalis stops before a few of the paintings and admires their craftmanship with a tomato red blush on his face. He adjusts his suit. "The artist is quite talented, don't you think?"
Once in the dining room, Vitalis scans over the guests and swallows hard when he notices one of the remaining four empty seats is right next to the dead man. He pulls his friends aside and whispers, "Is that the husband? Molly said not to talk to him. Although I doubt he'd talk back in any case." He glances over to the skeleton, then back to his allies, then back to the skeleton, then back to his allies. Then he throws his hands in the air. "Alright, I'll do it!"
He breaks from the others and pulls out the chair next to the corpse and gracefully sits down. He nods he head to it but doesn't say a word. He quickly turns his attention to the other guests.
Feeling anxious in a strange city without any armor, before leaving for the banquet, Chance casts mage armor from the scroll he bought (in addition to his usual daily casting of false life.
Chance hunches over as they approach Cobweb Manor, eyes darting from side to side as he tries to keep track of the unusual arachnids.
"Don't mind the spiders, she says. Of course not. Why would I mind the spiders? The dozens, no hundreds, of spiders, running here, and there, and oh gods is one on my back?!?" He frantically brushes off his back, reaching over his shoulders with the long, thin, cheerfully-wrapped package he carries, but all he finds are a few bits of cobweb stuck to the wide brim of his new hat. He darts quickly inside when the Queen of Delights's unusual butler opens the front door.
Checking out the paintings, he points out the same horned woman appearing in many of them. "So, ah," he says to his companions, trying to sound blasé, "is that lady our hostess, do you think? I guess maybe her title was kind of a giveaway. In hindsight, I mean. Not that I was looking at her ... oh, is it time to sit down for dinner already?"
The gnome peers at the skeleton and is about to offer to take the closest seat when Vitalis throws up his hands and offers to sit there. With a shrug and a relieved smile, Chance saunters around the table and chooses a seat next to a woman whose colorful clothes are in bold contrast to the conservative - but fashionable - scarlet suit he purchased for the occasion. He straightens the brim of his enormous bolero before joining her, in the belief that the hat redeems him from the aristocratic self-importance implied by the suit.
"Hello! My name is Fortunato Pineapple-Umbria Phantasmagorius Ravennablitz, but my friends call me Chance." He bows to his new neighbor before sitting down. "This is my first time in Vyre. I'm from Kintargo." The bard gives a slight tilt of his head in the direction of the skeleton. "I'm not trying to pry, of course, but I can't help but notice that the fellow seated to your left looks a bit under the weather."
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Before disappearing into a room to dress herself, Jisara calls the others to gather around a table, upon which she has set the bag of holding that was gifted to them. She gestures to the bag and begins speaking immediately.
"Anything you might want in an emergency, but wouldn't be allowed at a party, put in here. Weapons, armor, crowbars, the like. I'll hold on to the bag, so to speak, until things go sideways and we need them."
Jisara deposits her own staff, dagger, scrolls, and a healing potion into the bag, then waits for the others to do the same. Finally, holding the bag in one hand, she casts a spell that disappears it with a quiet pop of rushing air.
"There," she says, looking pleased. "When we need it, I can bring it back with a snap of my fingers."
Jisara emerges in a high-collared black gown with designs of flames in red lace. Her hair is styled to emphasize her short horns, rather than hide them, and dark curls fall past her shoulders. Thatch, who has also clearly been groomed (as much as a cat can be), marches smartly alongside her, tail and head held high.
"A flesh golem," Jisara comments once they've passed the doorman. "Wouldn't want to horrify the guests before they've even stepped foot inside."
Like her companions, she's taken aback by the paintings, though not necessarily for the same reason. "Maybe this is a vain thought, but I hope no one at the party thinks those are depictions of me."
Jisara hesitates to sit at the table, feeling very out of her element despite her dress and other accoutrements. Still, she sits next to Chance and gives her best smile to the woman seated to her right .