Tault, Martenin 6th, 838 ID
Mudgol and Langston continue to poke around in Floivin Keep while the remainder of the PCs await their return to Vettlar. Jealous of his mens' sudden interest in property, Captain Langston seeks out a plot right at home in Floivin Keep. Discouraged by the costs of purchasing a floor in the city proper, he acquires a ruined and abandoned two-story building on the Norcourt, outside the East gate of the keep. It will require a few thousand gold to repair once a team can be ready (they're still busy with the city itself). Mudgol hangs out and causes trouble as usual, in particular by shining his scrying mirror unintentionally on a local peasant and his donkey. After a brief confrontation and hints of potential violence, the teamster storms off angrily. Up in Vettlar, Baro keeps himself busy with his spyglass, nervous that further berserker tribes might show up to join the three camped outside the gates. A distance check reveals that the Vandrakki are smart enough not to be within range of most of the city's few anti-siege weapons, or destructive magics. But Baro discovers that the Devil Paws come complete with fist weapons and smilodon pets, and the Long Elks wield strange polearms called sugliin similar to the one the PCs picked up off the snow goblin captain in Tretcher. At night, in Floivin Keep, Langston gets his service quarters upgraded, and now sleeps under the same roof as General Morrow, Commander Hoary, and Captain Lesper.
Varony, Martenin 7th, 838 ID
The PCs are reunited at Vettlar and get to planning their next step. Mudgol gets into yet another altercation, this time with a curious old hag who wants his scrying mirror (which he's brought to Vettlar to place in Gruulsh's new house), but the half-orc is saved by a passing Fifth Eidolorn soldier. The immediate plan of the party is to take the fight to the tribes camped outside the city, but Commander Estelbard reinforces the notion that he simply does not have enough men to spare, and that the party would be on their own, and require a distraction to draw off the other two tribes temporarily. The other option is to attempt to free the miners trapped in Skrath Cairn, and this one wins out, with the group attempting to procure some rafts to take them across the cove to the huge mound of stones hollowed out within. To do this, Luz and Hnarsh risk a jaunt outside the gates, using a rope ladder and then traveling out of sight of the tribes to the cottage of fisherman Phaegr Mult, who is still occupying his Pinewater-side cottage. He's an unusual dwarf, and to convince him to loan them his small, raggedy fleet of water craft, they trade him a few hours at Burdun's Brothel in the city, Luz giving him a heap of coins to spend. The half-orc waits behind in the cottage, while Hnarsh accompanies Mult back up the walls. Luz discovers a strange statuette hidden in Mult's home, an alien sea goddess with human torso, claws and face of a lobster and a spread of foul tentacles below her waist...
Once back together in the city, the PCs launch their plan, to take all Mult's rafts and hopefully use any extra space to transport surviving miners back to the safety of Vettlar. They cross the narrow waterway to the isle where the Cairn resides, and then set out about to search the Furrower's guild quarters, all of which are empty. The avalanche that the berserkers used to seal off the Cairn mine is too thick to penetrate even with the magic available, so Luz decides to use stone shape further up the mound and lower the party inside. Hnarsh is sent off to search the perimeter of the cavern complex for other entrances, while Baro remains watch outside. The berserkers don't appear to stir, or care, even though they can clearly spy the party on top of the Cairn. Once the party is inside, they discover that one cavern (leading to the mines proper below the river) is flooded with cold water, while the other chambers, including the central hub, are void of life. A dozen human and dwarven corpses are strewn neatly around the central area, impaled with ornate tridents and appear to have the look of surprise on their faces...Ginkwrench volunteers to dive into the cold water and feel his way along to see if there's another airy chamber in the mine with survivors, but he can only go so far into the mine shaft before his limited vision foils him. The PCs, unnerved, decide to turn back empty handed (though they found a copper spoon and a few coins).
They return the rafts to a very (sexually) satisfied Phaegr Mult, and then inquire about the situation at the Cairn. Mult seems nervous and deceptive with his answers, but eventually reveals that when he was plying the sea with the Roys on the West Coast, he encountered a strange serpent-like buccaneer who told he and the other dwarves many strange tales, one of which involved an evil, aquatic race called the kuo-toa who maintain a presence in the vast Underdark below the continent of Thault. They worship a goddess much like the one of the statue he procured from a human miner friend. Mult later shares his fears that the kuo-toa must have a network of lairs somewhere beneath Vettlar, and that the miners of Skrath Cairn might have dug a little too deep. That the Cairn itself might have originally been placed where it was by frost giants to keep out this potential threat, and that the berserkers might have unwittingly done the city a service by trapping the miners inside (though Mult has stayed outside the gates to watch for survivors). After this reveal, the PCs go back to Vettlar to plan, while Mult stays behind and says he'll join them there later.
Langston decides it might be worth it to find magical assistance which the party can use for a better rescue attempt, but then gets some dissent from Gruulsh, who thinks its a useless endeavor and that the party should press on to either fight the berserkers or travel to find the generals. Langston remains firm, and the group concedes to acquire some supplies for the effort. Mudgol manages to offend the rather racist 'sage' Teven the Worm within short order, but Langston convinces the ugly dwarf to provide water breathing potions. In addition, loot is exchanged for cash and distribute to the PCs. Thanks to Teven and Brother Baylor (of the Twin Tabernacles), the party has enough protection to attempt the dive through the mine. They hit the hay and plan to depart the following day.
Verne, Martenin 8th, 838 ID
While preparing to depart, the PCs decide to make use of Mudgol's scrying spell. The previous day's use had revealed that 'Polk' was a pile of ashes inhabiting the corner of a burnt out structure in Floivin Keep, but today they decide to track down the man 'hunting' the half-orc, Luorn Stride. Despite only having second hand information, Mudgol finds the dangerous tracker out in the Frogmarch somewhere near the old ruins they had recently visited...and the party concocts a plan to teleport to the man, surprise him and hopefully end his particular threat, though the diviner is not convinced he should use the spell up for the day when there are other pressing matters.
PCs: Baro, Ginkwrench, Gruulsh, Langston, Luz, Mudgol
NPCs
Phaegr Mult (dwarf male): A fishy scent seems to surround this gruff,
square-jawed dwarf, swathed in thick furs and a leather vest. His brown-gray
hair is tied back in a top-knot, and he’s got at least three wicked looking
knives in scabbards on his belt. Most notable though, is the ‘mock beard’ he
has made for himself out of fishing hooks, each piecing the skin of his jaw and
jiggling when he speaks in a hoarse growl. Mult's a skilled local fisherman who claims to have had a past sailing out of Castle Roy as a merchant and adventurer.
No comments:
Post a Comment