Hey all, I've started the Shackled City for my group, alternating adventures with one of our other DM's (for the Annoying Prince...). We are utilizing the Spycraft 2.0 system for characters and altering the creatures & such for the system as necessary. The City is set in the Delphin Mountains of the Tashalar in the Forgotten Realms (I found this a much more amicable location). Sasserine is Tashluta, and there are other things that you'll see along the way.
As of the introduction, our characters are:
Hamar El-Birakki: Sendasti Druid with no memory
Dorian of the Wealdath: 1/2 Wood elf with serious family issues.
Nystar of Manshaka: Former human calishite slave and Cleric of Ilmater
D'tri: An odd human monk, who has some secrets in the Lapal Region.
Dorian spent much of his early life trying to fit into a birthright that, in the end, did not make him happy. His Elven grandfather was a well-respected elder tribesman, and his daughter Alyssa was a sweet and gentle soul. His mother had always been a healer and she made yearly trips to the outlying villages in Tethyr to provide help to the poor. During one of those sojourns, she treated a young handsome human who had been injured rescuing a group of children from a dangerous rockslide. They became enamored and spent several nights of passion together before she had to leave, the result being Dorian. Her father was furious, of course, but he loved Alyssa and grudgingly accepted the child into the family, as much as a wood elf can.
An awkward and gangly youth, he worked in the few stables the wood elves kept, mostly tending the horses. Although some thought it was a punishment for being born, he enjoyed working with animals and the freedom that came with taking them on daily rides. Although just a bastard, he did receive some training as a warrior and he strived to learn as much as possible so one day he would be respected. He was not the strongest of warriors but grew to be very quick and agile, he preferred the use of lighter and flashier human weapons and armor in contrast to the natural trappings that other wood elven warriors seem to fancy. He became fast and accurate with his blade, not the typical hack and slash, but focusing in on the vital organs to maximize damage and spring away before a counter-attack. One day he accompanied his mother in a small caravan traveling to one of the border towns. They were beset by a well-armed group of bandits who surprised the guards and were quickly able to dispatch them.
Fortunately, Dorian had spent a considerable time in the woods and had learned a trick or two. He vocalized a low guttural growl like a wolf on the hunt, thus causing the bandit's horses to spook and throw their riders while his mother's entourage took off down the road. To make sure they would not follow her, Dorian dismounted and taunted the bandits until they were furious. He then ran into the woods with the brigands in hot pursuit. Although a solid fighter, Dorian knew he could not survive against the four remaining bandits but he had noticed that each warrior had been injured to varying degrees. Therefore, the least injured warrior would reach him first and he could fight him one on one. Using this strategy, he was bone weary with a dozen minor injuries but he prevailed by defeating all the barbarous scum.
Upon hearing this story, his grandfather was impressed and finally gave him the recognition
he was looking for along with a commission as a outland tribal scout (much to the disappointment of his mother). After that, his training regimen became very rigorous in preparation for what the elven seers had prophesied. The nation of Tethyr was going to be in Civil War, and the elves of the Wealdath were going to have to fight some of the outsiders off. Dorian was typically used as a scout due to his quickness and ability to blend into the forests, he did find plenty of action on the battlefield which he reveled in at first. However, he found this to be an empty life, he was out in the field all the time and the constant (and he believed pointless) killing was beginning to gnaw at his insides. Finally, he had enough, he went before his grandfather to explain his position and they ended up having a huge argument.
After that, he thought it best to leave and decided to explore and learn about the
realm. He said good-bye to his mother and set off, he traveled extensively, first through the outlying elven villages, then the now broken human cities, halfing hamlets and finally into human settlements in Calimshan to the south. He found humans to be particularly accepting and gracious people and quickly learned to like them. He learned much about the history of the races, their cultures and way of life but he also saw much suffering in the world. He makes ends meet by doing mercenary work and prefers being a guide. There he met Nystar of Manshaka, a priest to the human god Ilmater, and Hamar, a strange desert nomad, of a race he had never seen before. The three left Calimport, as something bad had happened to Nystar, of which he did not speak. All they knew was that his newfound friend had to leave. They traveled from Calimport to the city of Tashulta, across the Great Sea, and from there they made their way east, intending to act as a group of scouts and bodyguards in the Lapal League.
The History of Nystar of Ilmater
Nystar barely remembers his childhood. His father was a slave that was a successful gladiator in the games of Manshaka, in Calimshan. Uyodrin the Golden Bear was legendary, especially in an arena known to be especially brutal to its contestants. Uyodrin was used as breeding stock for years, but he eventually fell in love with a Othirindra, a house slave of his master. Othirindra bore him a son, though their master, Shavir, paid little attention, assuming that one of his sons or other relations had violated the woman.
Uyodrin began to do his utmost to keep from being used as breeding stock after this point, and began to make plans to escape (something only one other slave in memory, Vajra Valjemay, had done), Uyodrin would feign all kinds of illnesses, and was constantly scraping what little gold was actually allowed to him to place side bets with other to earn even more gold.
Uyodrin was impatient, and Othrindra began to worry about his impetuousness. She was a follower of Ilmater, and she councilled him to make peace with his situation, and to keep his mind alert, and perhaps Ilmater would allow them to persevere long enough to survive their horrible surroundings. But Uyodrin was a man of action, and took gold in exchange for a promise to help him escape if he killed that fighter of a rival of the man paying him. Uyodrin picked a fight with the other gladiator, and killed him, but when the time came, the noble did not keep up his part of the bargain, and Uyodrin was called before Shavir to explain himself.
Shavir learned everything, from his love for Othirindra and his child with her, to his feigned illnesses, and his side bets. Shavir was shamed over the assassination of another noble's slave, and was incensed that his slave had played him for a fool for so long. He immediately had Uyodrin tortured, and even spent the coin to hire a traveling Red Wizard to perform some of the Thayan's famous spells of agony on the helpless slave, before finally killing him.
Shavir had Nystar seized and brought before him, and told him that he would be trained for battle like his father. Nystar told Shavir that he would never fight for him, and Shavir ordered the boy beated. The boy was nearly broken, but still defied Shavir. Shavir allowed the boy to rest, determined to break him, and eventually Nystar was brought before Shavir again, and the same thing happened again. Shavir allowed him to heal a third time, and a third time Nystar was brought before Shavir. Shavir still endured the beatings and torture, and Shavir, in a rage, demanded that the boy be killed.
Shavir guards tried to strangle the boy, and though he would black out, he would not die from lack of air. Shavir ordered the boy stoned, and though many bones were broken, he still lived. Shavir ordered his wrists slit, and the wounds would bleed, but little, and the boy still lived. Shavir stabbed the boy in the stomach, but he would not die. He finally ordered his bodyguard to take his great scimitar and cut off the boy's head. Though he struck a mighty blow, the boy's head would not leave his body.
Shavir saw Nystar standing before him, broken, bloody, with tears running down his face, hardly able to keep from moaning in pain. But still there was defiance in his eyes. He could not stand, only lean upon a wooden beam, and yet Shavir saw that the boy should have collapsed in a heap from his broken bones. In the image of the broken, bloody, crying lad, Shavir saw something more than the boy he had beaten and bloodied, and it scared him.
“What do you want? My blood? My house? My gold? Do you want vengence?,” Shavir finally cried.
Nystar looked at him, tears welling up anew, and simply said, “I don't want vengence. I don't want your blood. I just want you to stop hurting people.”
Shavir was afraid that Nystar was possesed by some foul spirit intend to do him harm, or cursed by some powerful wizard that he had never known he had offended, and wanted the boy away from his home as soon as possible. He called for his house priest, a cleric of Bhaelros, and had the cleric heal the boy fully. He then sent the boy to the slave markets of Calimshan to be sold, so that Shavir never had to see him again.
Nystar was sold in Calimshan, and had the good fortune to be bought by Brother Dolmas, an Ilmatari cleric that maintains a shrine to Saint Asref, patron saint of freed slaves in the Ilmatari faith. Brother Dolmas originally sought to free Nystar, but upon talking to Nystar, he heard a respect for Ilmater's teachings and a true desire to do good for others, even above his own self interest. Dolmas arranged for Nystar to travel to his home temple in Saradush in Tethyr for clerical training.
Nystar not only was trained as a cleric, but he also spoke of the good that Dolmas was doing in Calimport, in the hopes that he could get Brother Dolmas' shrine officially recognized as a holy site, and that the Order of Saint Asref could be officially recorded as a branch of the Church of Ilmater. For his devotion to his teacher, the priests in Saradush allowed Nystar to return to the docks of Calimport to work with Dolmas.
During his time in the docks of Calimport, he met a half-elf named Dorian, who befriended him and acted as a bodyguard for Dolmas during his time there. He also met a strange desert nomad, Hamar.
For several months Dolmas and Nystar healed injured slaves and did odd jobs to scrape together enough money to buy them from time to time in order to set them free. Eventually Pasha Harun of the Shackles Ward, the ward of Calimport where the slave markets are housed, noticed the Ilmatari clerics and their purchasing of slaves, and had them arrested for sedition. They were released, but with the stipulation that they could not gather a “levy,” in effect banning them from buying slaves.
Nystar was incensed, and he berated Pasha Harun, and called him a coward for not allowing them to work within the laws to do what the Pasha's are too afraid and debased to do themselves, to serve their people. Harun was furious, but didn't react right away. Dolmas and Nystar returned to their shrine, but Pasha Harun had a magistrate issue a warrant of arrest and a sentence of immediate execution for the charge of sedition against Nystar and any who would aid him.
Dolmas sought a way to get Nystar out of harm's way before he was found, and Pasha Tahyr of the Ports Ward made a deal with Dolmas. He was at odds with Pasha Harun, and agreed to get Dolmas cleared of sedition charges, and he would smuggle Nystar out of Calimport, but Dolmas would have to publicly say that Nystar was an agent provocatuer, and he had left Calimport without any aid. Dolmas did not want to accept the deal, for he was afraid of sullying Nystar's good name, but Nystar told Dolmas that he did not want to damage Dolmas' mission, and accepted the title of spy and seditionist, and his death sentence. Pasha Tahyr helped smuggle Nystar out of Calimport, and Pasha Harun still seeks the “traitor” to mete out his death sentence, especially now that Pasha Tahyr has embarrased Harun by clearing Dolmas. Pasha Tahyr also paid for the “bodyguard” Dorian, and the companion Hamar to accompany Nystar on his journey. The pasha was even as generous to pay for sea voyage to the far port of Tashulta. Upon arrival, and thinking about their current lot in life, the trio decide to travel to the Lapal League to try their various trades there. They have just arrived in Cauldron.
Nystar shaves his head so as to be easily identifyable as a priest (though obviously not all priests follow this practice). He has the golden brown skin of a Calishite, and a neatly trimmed goatee, and he also has the grey teardrop tatoo of the older, orthodox branch of the Ilmatari faith, a tradition that has been out of common practice for some time, the teardrop being under his left eye. Nystar is most concerned with healing and mending ills, as well as evincing the holy might of Ilmater. He is somewhat interested in holy power that emmits light, not as part of dogma so much as the fact that the cultists of Shar were a constant threat in the Dock Wards of Calimport. Nystar has taken a vow of chastity, in order to remain focused on aiding others and putting his own needs aside.
Hamar El-Birakki
DM’s note: This “history” takes place a few weeks before meeting Nystar and Dorian.
I woke up today with a strange feeling, one that is hard to describe or to put into words. I woke up today with the feeling that today was the first day that I had been awake. This has to be wrong. People don’t wake up into a body that knows how to react to things; people don’t wake up with ideas and dreams. I cannot remember growing up. What does this mean?
My name is Hamar El-Birakki. I know that my name is a strong name and that I was named after my father. I know that I will do great things and that people will remember my passing. I know that the clan of the El-Birakki is in danger and that I must help them. I also know that I am the only person that has any idea what all this means. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean anything to me. What does this mean?
How does someone survive with no identity? I have a name, I have dreams, I have a sword, but these things do not define what I will become. In my dreams there are dark powers moving. Something is happening in this world that did not birth me, but has requested my presence because only I can stop what is coming. What does this mean?
I would be lying to you if I tried to tell you that I do not live my life in fear. I know that because I do not understand what is happening to me or why I am here means nothing to those that I must stop. People are going to be alerted to my alien presence here. It is always the outsider that stands out the most in a crowd. When things start to move, others will know my part in things better than I will. What does this mean?
I will tell you right now what this means. I will do what it takes to survive. I may not know where I am from, or who my father is, or why people are trying to stop from doing what must be done, but I do know one thing. I do not care what all this means.
I am Hamar El-Birakki. You may not recognize my skin or my people, but that will not matter when I come for you. I am here with a purpose, and while it might be more obvious to you than me what I must do, I can assure you of one thing. I will make it happen. You cannot stop me. While my enemies may not yet know my name or my face, for many of them it will be the last thing they ever see. For those who manage to survive me, they will regret doing so. I swear this to your foreign gods who seem to think I should be here. I swear this on my family’s name. I swear that my name will become known and feared to those who choose to stand against me.
During Hamar’s travels, he met a nice gentleman named Nystar, and a mercenary named Dorian. The two seem like nice traveling companions, and Dorian appears to be a capable warrior, if a bit light on the weaponry. Nystar is a follower of the god Ilmater, and such cares a great deal for those in suffering and need. The group left Calimport after a Pasha paid for your services as a “bodyguard” for Nystar during this journey.
D'tri:
D'tri was left as an orphan. Due to his exceptional physical abilities and supposed lack of family affiliation, he was trained in the martial arts and as a spy by the government of one of the cities in the Lapal League. Unfortunately, his parents had future plans for him, even if they were too busy with other foul plots to raise him themselves. They came looking for him, and they were yuan-ti. They wanted to train him in the magical arts that he was supposedly in possession of, so he could serve their dark lord, by serving them, of course. The yuan-ti were discovered sneaking into the capital and in the resulting fight were supposidly slain, but D'tri's parentage was discovered and he was forced to flee into the night.
Currently looking for him are members of his parent's cult, he is suppose to be a powerful magician, although he has yet to manifest any magical powers besides his amazing physical abilities. They view him as either a traitor to the cause or a would be trall to themselves. The Lapaliyan government is after D'tri. They want him dead for his tainted blood and other things that he is unaware of...
D'tri has a tatoo of duo serpents entwined on his back, one green, one black. He tries to stay alert at all times because he knows he is a wanted man. D'tri refrains from drinking heavily as it may cloud his perceptions and slow his reflexes. He is a man of action tempered with wisdom. Not above sprouting quasi-mystic sayings of his home country, D'tri is a man with not much to lose and this makes him very dangerous. He likes to test his abilities and doesn't flinch from difficult tasks. He is currently supporting himself with mercenary work. He has a strong code of ethics and a strong
sense of personal honor. This makes him not except questionable jobs. D'tri has his head shaved bald, except a long pony tail that he keeps stored wrapped around his neck most of the time. He tends to wear dark clothing that allows him freedom of movement range. D'tri exercises daily to keep
himself in top condition. He tends to follow more than lead and tries not to draw much attention to himself. Although he is tall, that is his only real distinguishing part of his appearance.
DM’s Intro (then I leave this journal to the noble KnightErrantJR, with a few notes):
The trio of Dorian, Nystar, and Hamar enter the city of Cauldron from the West Gate, nestled in the Delphin mountains of the eastern Tashalar. The evening is cool, with the rainy season approaching. The city is relatively quiet, although during their search for an inn, they hear cries for help.
D’tri enters the city of Cauldron from the East Gate, having evaded pursuit this far from the Lapal League for weeks now. He is searching for a quiet place to sleep for the evening, when he hears cries for help.
The trio of Dorian, Nystar, and Hamar see a gentleman being beaten in an alley, by three ruffians, although one is watching for them. Dorian smoothly draws his bow and fires at the lookout, dropping him with one shot. One of the other thugs sees what happened, and begins to flee, just when a bald man (d’tri) comes in to block their way out. Hamar deftly disarms one of the thugs while D’tri trips him when he tries to drag his fallen ally from the fray. Just then the guards arrive, and the group introduces themselves, their captives, and their “rescued” person, one Ruphus Llaro of the Church of Helm in Cauldron.
Seems that we chose similar options to play this campaign. :)) I too chose to set Cauldron in Tashalar among the Hazur Mountains (in the south west part along the Dolsel (sp?) river). We are currently finishing "Demonskar Legacy". I look forward reading more of your campaign.
Bran.
The Journal of Brother Nystar, The Adorned, of the Crying God Ilmater
Session Number One
We have just arrived in this city of Cauldron, through the west gate of the city. I do not think that Dorian nor Hamar are any more at ease than I am. Dorian, though, is always troubled, always searching the shadows for things with knives, and Hamar is always distant, as if he is not fully with us.
This country of Tashalar troubles me, but no more so than Calimshan did. They are still slavers, though of a slightly different stripe. Despite this, when we first arrived in Tashluta, the trappings of the Old Crone, Talona the Corrupter were in plain view. They say that it is because she delivered Tashalar from Calimshan with a plague in ages past, but she is the cause of much suffering, and as such, I cannot reconcile myself to being beholden to her.
The three of us knew that Tashluta would not be far enough away from Calimport to keep me out of trouble, and I mourn that I am a burden on my companions. We traveled to this city of Cauldron, which is different than the surrounding country.
Cauldron is in the bowl of a volcano, and segregated from much of the rest of the Tashlar. It is, from what we have heard, a bit more noble of spirit than Tashluta, though it still has much in common with the rest of the country. I am troubled that slavery is still practiced here, but I have heard that the rules in this city are stricter, more in line with Mulhorand than with Calimshan or other slave nations. We shall see.
The city is much like other cities. It is not large, and indeed, compared to Calimport it is no city at all. Still, it is large enough that there are those who prey on those too weak to do better for themselves. I must put away such thoughts though, for I am becoming too cynical to see the lesson in the sadness.
Dorian hears someone in distress, and the sounds of violence. We head toward the alley where these seem to originate from. We see men in strange costumes, adorned like stage performers or the like, accosting a man in the priestly vestments of Helm, the Vigilant One. They have beaten him badly.
Dorian draws his bow, and takes aim on the men in masks. I move towards them, as does Hamar, but another figure, graceful, like a slithering desert serpent, glides towards the figures from the other direction. Dorian's bow strikes true, though he does not kill his target, and the graceful stranger manages to pummel the villains into quietude. As Hamar and I close on them, all but one manage to escape.
I tend to the wounds of the priest of Helm, and then I take care of the arrow wound that Dorian gave the knave. The city watch have arrived, and Dorian quickly puts away his bow, so as not to end up on the wrong side of the law.
The watchemen seem to recognize these strange thugs, and they take the injured man into custody.
The priest tells us that his name is Ruphus, and he asks us to follow come with him to the temple of Helm. This is something that I am most willing to do, as Helm is an ally of the Triad, and as such, this invitation makes me feel far more comfortable than Tashluta's devotion to Talona.
We talk to Ruphus, and also to our new companion, the graceful man, who fights as if he were trained as a monk in Ilmater's order (though I know other orders that conduct similar training). He introduces himself as D'tri, and he has come from the Lapal Leauge. He is not an attractive man, but his skill and grace were impressive.
Upon arriving at the temple, we are introduced to Jenya, the acting High Preistess of the temple. She tells us that she is in charge of the temple while the High Priest is away, and she offers us the hospitality of the temple as newcomers to the city. She offers us lodging for the night, and asks for a recap of what happened. We learn that the men that accosted Ruphus told him to stay away from the orphanage.
The next morning we were all to have a meeting with Jenya, but we are delayed while she has a meeting with the city watch. When she is finally finished with them, we have a chance to speak with her, and she shares with us that one of the members of the gang that we met, known as the Last Laugh, was a member of the city watch, and that he escaped.
Jenya tells us that three priests have gone missing, and that there have been other kidnappings in the city, and she asks us if we would be interested in investigating what is going on for her. My companions seem amenable to this arrangement, so we accept, and we are now going to start getting familiar with the city to begin this investigation.
The Journal of Nystar of Ilmater
Session Two
Jenya, when we finally had the chance to speak with her, related to us that she had commued with her god Helm using an artifact from the temple, an artifact which is normally reserved for use by the High Priest, but in his absense, she claimed the right herself.
In this communion with her god, she received a prophesy from Helm, and she passed this on to us. I will record this later in my journal, as we have been carefully writing this down and trying to understand what is going on.
My addled hearing be cursed, I could have sworn that Jenya had said that priests had gone missing, when we first arrived, but I was tired and bewildered at being new to the city, and in fact she informed us that children had gone missing from the orphanage.
My companions and I all agreed to look into the matter, and Jenya shared with us a list of those who had gone missing recently. It seems a good number of persons have disappeared recently, but many were of such a social status that the watch paid their disappearance no mind.
Such class based determinations rile my blood, but Ilmater teaches me persaverance. Where the watch fails to provide, so shall I be an instrument of Ilmater's mercy.
We decide to gather some information in the city, and the first place we look is the orphanage itself. We speak with Gretchen, the matron that runs the orphanage, and try to determine anything unusual about the children that have been taken. We also ask about others that work the grounds.
We spend time searching the quarters of the children, and decide to talk to Patch, a half orc that works as a janitor at the orphanage. Patch is reticent to talk to us, and indeed, seems quite limited in his communication skills. At first I wonder if it is an act, but after we talk to him for a while, he truly seems to be lacking in his mental faculties.
D'tri searches the rooms and the half orc's quarters while we are talking to him, and we turn up a strange coin. Dorian grows short tempered with the half orc, and while I would normally worry about his temper, in this case its for the good of the children. The half orc looses control of himself and tells us that he recieved gold to keep watch over one of the children, and was paid by a halfling that he played dice with at a local tavern.
We travel to the tavern and ask some questions. Both Dorian and Hamar note that the dancers at the tavern during the day are not very attractive, to which I point out that I tend to avoid noticing such things. The local barkeep gets very leary of us when we mention the Last Laugh, and we notice a pair of akward half elves that seem to be asking questions themselves.
We meet up with a watch patrol to ask questions of some of the watch officers we met the other night, hoping to find out some answers to what is going on. One of the watch members seems willing to discuss the "problems" with the city government and the watch, and as such, we invite him out for a drink so he can speak more freely.
We also run into the half elves. They are staying at an abandoned temple of Chauntea, and they mention that one of the kidnapped people was a friend of theirs, a wizard. We find his name on our list, and they mention that his house was warded and that he had some of the finest locks in the city installed on his house. We breifly think about trying to get into the wizard's house to look for more clues, but we decide against this, as the fellow appeared to be a fairly powerful wizard, and his house might be strongly warded.
Upon returning to the tavern that night, Dorian and Hamar entertain the watch officer, though his "secrets" leave much to be desired. He complains about being overworked and underpaid, and mentions that the Orin Veermont was the name of the watchman that was a member of the Last Laugh.
While Dorian, Hamar, and D'tri are talking to our friend, I take this oppourtunity to discuss the dangers of diseases of the flesh with those chatting up the dancers, and mention how one might avoid these diseases left in the wake of the passions of Sharess. While I assume that I am passing out useful information, many of the patrons, and my companions, seem to be a bit uneasy with such a candid discussion of reproductive health.
The Journal of Nystar of Ilmater
Session Two Continued
Third Day in Cauldron
Upon awakening the next day, we find that Dorian is extreemly weak. The clerics and I examine him, and he appears to have been poisoned. We do what we can for him, and he appears to be able to recover fairly quickly, but he will not do much today, and he is quite angry with whomever has incapacitated him.
We go over the facts that we have. D'tri mentions that locks that he inspected at the orphanage, and we also discuss the half elves and their mention of the locks that their wizard friend had installed on his house as well. Suddenly it occurs to us all that the locksmith might be the common link in all of this.
When we talk to the staff at the temple, they mention Keygan Ghelve as the most prominent locksmith of the city, and the one most likely to have installed the locks on both the Orphanage and the the wizard's home.
Fourth Day in Cauldron
We decide to speak with the gnome at his locksmithing shop, and when we arrive, he appears to be on edge. We finally pick up on the fact that there are apparently unsavory elements in the shop keeping an eye on him, and we casually have D'tri come around from the back of the building. D'tri tries to sneak in from the upstairs, but has a bit of problem with the windows.
There is a lot of crashing about, and the gnome is furious. He tells us that we have caused more problems then we have solved, and tells us that we have just made things worse. When we tell him that we want to catch those that were holding him hostage, he tells us that there is a passage to an old gnomish settlement in his shop, but that the place is curse.
We take a few moments to think it over, but decide that curse or no curse we need to find out about the children and the other kidnap victims, so we tell him this as well. He shows us the entrance, and once be get to traveling, we realize that the gear shaped rolling doors leading to the gnomish settlment seem to be referenced in the cryptic sayings that Helm provided to Jenya.
We carefully travel a few passageways, and find a few secret doors in those passageways. Eventually we run afoul of a patrol of hobgoblins. It takes a bit of time, but eventually we end up defeating the creatures. I abhor having to resort to violence, but the creatures weren't going to listen to any degree of wisdom. They asked for their share of suffering, and my companions and I provided Ilmater's gift on them.
We eventually reach a secret door that seems to delve deeply into the settlement underground, but we also realize that there is much that we seemed to have bypassed. We are wary of diving into the depths of this fortress, filled with unknown foes, too quickly, and we decide to backtrack and find out what might have been in the passages that the secret passages led us around.
The Journal of Nystar of Ilmater
Session Three, Continuing the Third Day in Cauldron
We went back into some of the hallways and rooms that we had managed to avoid earlier, and eventually found a room lined with masks carved to look like laughing faces. One of the first of the gear doors that we try blasts Dorian with fire from a trap. We decided to scout around a bit more before traveling through this room, and we managed to find a room that was inhabited by small human shaped beings bundled in cloth.
The creatuers attacked us, but one of them ran away fairly quickly. The one that stayed perished, and we noticed that there was a series of tunnels, barely large enough for us to use, carved into the walls, providing a secondary means of traversing some of the corridors.
We find a strange room that appears to be a garden of sorts, magically lit, with trees in it.
Following one of these passageways, we eventually found a room that was large and wide open. We ran into something that we could not see, even when we brought our light source to bear. Upon hearing mechanical whirring, the thing before us became visible, and we saw a large metal creature, not unlike a crab, but instead of claws it had large metal reams spinning at the end of its arms.
We all pounded on the creature trying to damage it, and eventually Hamar struck an exposed joint with his falchion, and one of its ream arms fell off. The oil that it spewed upon the ground managed to cause D'tri to loose his balance, and he fell prone in the slippery mess.
While we were busy with the metal crab thing, another of the bundled small men crept into the room, and this one stabbed me in my rear . . . flank, and I spun to engage him. The crab machine let out a booming, resonating sound that nearly stunned us, but we manged to defeat the machine and knock the small man unconcious.
I know that the small man struck me, and perhaps he would have killed me, but Ilmater teaches mercy, and the small man was incapacitated. My companions wished to dispatch him as a vanquished foe, but I could not allow them to. My mind went to thoughts of Dark Calimshan, the undercity of Calimshan, and a city unto itself. Many wretched creatures eek out an existance there, only surviving by turning to horrible acts, acts they never would have performed had their need not been great. Was this creature such a victim I wondered?
Upon getting a better look at the creature, I noticed his features a bit beastial, and his feet were cloven hooves. I did not think him to be any kind of fiend though . . . somehow he didn't feel that unnatural to me. Dorian clearly wanted the thing to die because it opposed us, and Hamar reasoned that it was a waste of energy and resources to keep it alive, but I still felt as if I didn't know for sure if this being was evil or just afraid, or worse yet, a pawn or a slave.
Hamar says that whatever I do I cannot let the creature go to warn others of its ilk that might be about. I see the wisdom in what he says, but I can't abandon my course of action at this point. I bound the creatures hands with my wrist straps and tied him to my wrist with my belt, and I told the others that I would take full responsibility for him. I only wish that the creature spoke Alzhedo or the common trade tounge, as I cannot communicate with him.
We come to one of the gear doors that we have seen before, and we notice a slot in it, as if there might be some kind of large key or handle that fits in it. D'tri and Hamar seem to agree that if we could find these handle/keys that this would likely bypass any traps on the doors and obviate the need to batter down the doors or pick their locks.
Session Three, Continued
We had noticed before that some of the doors had specific runes on them (perhaps dwarven runes, Dethek I believe, which I think gnomes use to render their language as well). We think that the runes might correspond to some kind of markings that might exist on the handles for the proper doors, and we set out to find some of these keys to that we might better explore this level, and at less risk to ourselves.
We venture into another room that has in it a creature that is similar to the small one that I have taken captive, but this one is a tall (human height) thing being. We speak to him, and thankfully he understands the common tongue. We notice that he has a something very like what we would assume the key to look like on his person, and we discuss what he would want.
We ask the creature what he would want in exchange for the key, and he tells us that he wants a cure for the Vanishing, which is said to be housed in some fortress further into the complex. He tells us that he and his servants helped a local slaver secret stolen persons into this fortress. He also offers us a phrase to use that will tell the small creatuers under his command not to attack us. I agree to bring him back the cure if we find it, but only if he knows it will be shared among any afflicted. He agrees, and I tell him that I will release my captive back to his care so long as he promises no harm will come to him.
When Hamar takes the key from him, there appears, for a brief moment, to be an . . . exhange? Something that almost happens, but not quite, that we can all just barely percieve.
He tells me that here a knife to the heart is the same as death by natural causes. I heard his words, but for some reason, I release the creature to him anyway. Some part of me must have known this was a threat, but for the sake of expediency I tell myself he is just being ominous, that he wants us to know how harsh life is in the caverns. I should know better. I lived in Manshaka and Calminshan, and know the difference between a threat and a promise, but I don't take what he says to heart.
As we travel away from the room, I hear the small creature's death scream, and I am enraged. I call the larger being a slaver and a whore for gold, and I swear I will kill him myself. I nearly match Dorian when he is in a blood rage. But Hamar stops me. He tells me that I know what was likely to happen, and that to charge in and attack the creature now might risk our amnesty with his servants and our own lives, as well as the lives of those we are trying to find. I hate his pragmatism, and I hate that he is right, but he is, and I must admit it, to myself if not out loud to my peers.
When we return to Cauldron above, I hope to find a confessor of Ilmater. I know that this situation is my own fault. I do not regret sparing the creature's life, and I could not keep him with us indefinately, but I should have set him free on his own, not given him back to his master, and the lives of the children and the others abducted are tantamount here. I press on, knowing that I must think on this more fully.
We find a forge room, with gnome sized barrels, and we manage to find another key for the gear doors. We find a few minor treasures as well, and we use the phrase that the creature taught us to call off several of the small creatures to avoid combat.
We enter a very large room with a massive, well lit, turning gear near the ceiling and a second floor balcony as well. Looking around the place, this appears to be a room where the machines like the crab creature might be assembled. But before we can explore any further, a creature drops down from the mess of mechanical gears and other apparatus near the ceiling.
Session Three, Concluded
The creature appears to be a floating brain with a beak and tentacles. Truly a horrific monster, and it moves to harm us. I call upon Ilmater to enhance the abilities of all of our weapons, and Dorian fires his bow at the abomination. D'tri kicks the beast and is entagled in its tentacles, but then Hamar manages to finish the beast off with his falchion.
Beyond the parts for the mechanical creatuers, we also find keys and more doors, and we continue to explore. We also manage to find more of the carved passages that the small creatures seem to have made, although this one is dug out larger, and accomodates our size better. We are led to a few doors that we do not yet have keys for, and we double back to other areas that we have explored.
We find a hidden library that has been nearly cleared out of books, and we also find another of the mechanical creatures, this one inert, underneath a tarp. From there we find a few more doors that we can access, and eventually we find a room with a pile of rags in it. The room also has several vials and alchemical apparatus in it. And then the rags started to move of their own accord.
D'tri is covered in them, and his eyes take on a strange glow. He moves to attack us, and we decide to try and pry off the scraps of cloth that have affixed themselves to him. It is difficult, and D'tri, from time to time, resists the evil scraps control over him. Eventually we pry off the strips of evil cloth and set them aflame with the oil from the room.
After taking some vials of oil and acid from the alchemical supplies in the room, we open another room that is accessable with our keys. In this room, we find one of the small creatures covered in the strips of animate cloth, and we fight to pull them off of him. When we do, he runs, and the cloth forms a whirlwind. Before it gets close to us, Hamar throws a vial of oil towards me, and I bat the container toward the cloth with my staff, setting it aflame.
The next notable room we arrive in appears to be a throne room, and there appears to be an elderly gnome sitting on the throne. He seems to be slumbering. Near the sleeping gnome is another of the carved faces we saw earlier. It recites some kind of poem about the Vanishing and how the gnomes magic betrayed them, and a spell goes off, cursing me by making me extreemly uncoordinated. After baning my knees, toes, and head several times, I manged to walk down off the throne dias, after the apparent illusion of the gnome king is gone.
I will grant mercy to all that need it, and I will aid the downtrodden and those in pain and suffering. With that stated, I must say now before Ilmater that I am not fond of gnomes. I have prayed to Ilmater to grant me the stamina to resist making a stronger statement than that.
Eventually we find a room with several casks marked with carved animals on the top of them. All of us search them, especially D'tri, trying to find any traps or secret compartments. We find a few trinkets, some even magical, and some small weath, but Dorian finds a sack. When he reaches in, he finds a small hairy ball. He throws it, and it turns into a rat. Something strange happens, and he seems to . . . shudder for a moment. He isn't quite sure why, and even as a healer I am at a loss to know what has just happened.
Eventually we notice that we have seen nearly all of the rooms that are evident on this level of the complex, and we find ourselves in a room that appears to be a theatre of sorts, with elaborate carved pillars and a stage will curtains. Hamar investigates the stage, and we see him pulled into a trap door, only to climb up fairly quickly. When we get closer, we find out that a strange creature with long, rubbery arms reached out for him and tried to squeeze the life out of him, but he managed to get the drop on the beast shortly after it pulled him into the trap door. We find a wand and a spellbook, a mandolin and another key.
He last room that we seem to be able to explore on this level of the complex is one with large carved black pillars dipicting gnomish warriors and acrobats, with a twenty foot tall ceiling and a large pool, being filled with a carved gnomish face as the fountain. The room is filled with drifting dancing lights created by some kind of dweomer.
We spend some time here, discussing what we will do next, resting from our fatigue, and hoping to heal some of our bumps and bruises. Hamar and D'tri seem very focused on finding out what is going on, to the exclusion of much else, and Dorian seems to be developing a positively murderous mood. I hope that can stay free of any destructive passions or distractions before we find our missing quary, and the cure for the Vanishing. And I hope we don't fall victim to it ourselves.