Monday, September 30, 2013

Online Session 52 (9/30/13)

Here is the link to the transcript of AIM online session 52.

PCs: Doorjamb

NPCs

Doss Drarn (human male): Thick-armed, middle aged man with long brown hair, he is garbed in finely crafted furs and speaks with a deep, resonant voice from his chest. Doss is a refugee who fled Vettlar with several cousins and strangers on a half-dozen roughshod flotilla made from rafts and debris. Doorjamb Grizzlebeard encountered and fed the man and his retinue while they were rafting south down the Pinewater, and he pointed them out to Tarndim for refuge.

Tyro Roodeye (elf male): A slender but fit elf of unknown years, Tyro’s platinum brow and slender, aquiline nose are all adorned with rings of sparkling gold, while similar bands are clasped to his wrists and elbows. Thinning, long platinum hair hangs behind his neck. He leans upon a staff affixed with crows’ beaks, and wears a fine cloak of red over a russet leather robe. Tyro is sent on behalf of Littlewolf to procure some assistance with a 'giant' problem stemming from the ruins at Ettenhead.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Session 52 (9/13/13)

*The Suckers and the Sucked*

Verne, Martenin 22nd, 838 ID  

Soon after the close victory in Castle Floivin, Doorjamb and Captain Lesper take off together to some unknown destination, leaving the rest of the PCs to 'clean up' the mess. They do so, looting the useful arms and armor off the githyanki forces, and then searching the rest of the first floor for survivors. They discover the newly appointed Treasurer of Floivin, one Coven, stuffed in the bottom of a desk in the Castellan's Office, who is escorted out by Mistlethroe; and the Regent herself placed in some sort of necromantic stasis and set aside in one of the ornamental suits of armor in the Regent's Meeting chamber/study. She is grateful for the rescue, though rather peeved that the invasion took place to begin with, and implores the party to seek out any other survivors. They find dozens of corpses of both castle staff and petitioners in the front foyer to the castle, which answers that question. Determined to leave the charnel house, the Regent and the PCs step outside, the body of Ginkwrench in tow, and they meet up with Hoary, Banghorn, and Schnoo, who appears to have been frizzle fried, losing much of his hair and personality in the process.

The burgundy robed wizard informs them that while he wasn't able to put an end to the githyankis' dragon battle platform, he did in the riders and managed to use a taxing spell to permanently transform the creature into a large red lake fish, which will make some angler happy in the upcoming seasons. The Regent and Hoary order that some soldiers comb over the upper levels of the castle to ensure there are no more survivors or enemies, and then the group begins to debate whether or not to pursue immediate retaliation into the Astral Plane. Mistlethroe, the resident 'expert', advises against it, since the Fell Queen will be aware of any force moving in on the mercane trade vessels, there aren't enough local wizards who can 'plane shift' an army directly onto the Fell Queen's stronghold, and training them all to 'fall' through the Astral might prove disastrous. Instead, it is ultimately decided that Schnoo and Mistlethroe will moor the Flabbergast Manor onto its lakeside Prime Material location indefinitely, so as not to invite further knowledge of their location to hostile forces. Hoary posthumously promotes Ginkwrench to Captain, and also promotes Banghorn to that rank, and Gruulsh to that of Lieutenant. Before rejoicing, the PCs head to the Cathedral of Blades to deal with the gnome barbarian's remains...

When they arrive, several of the PCs notice a large, golden-furred bat suspended from one of the statues atop the Cathedral. Gruulsh begins to scale the church, and the others argue about what to do, when Conniff blows out the front doors and tells them to leave it be, stop climbing the sacred place, and come inside. He takes specific notice to Lord Ballyhoo, whom he orders into his office. Meanwhile several acolytes come to take Ginkwrench's (looted) remains. Neddyn, flashing his wasp symbol of Radhol Thidhe around in the open, is confronted by a rigid female acolyte who tells him to put it away. A snoring, cloaked figure sits in the back pew of the church, and Mudgol and Gruulsh take an interest, to discover a golden haired gnome who has 'squatted' here for some time now. In Conniff's office, he accosts Ballyhoo for his recent actions with a female acolyte which resulted in her pregnancy (purportedly the bard's child!). The minstrel agrees to pay some cash to take care of the inevitable offspring, though he insists upon seeing the poor woman, which the bishop will simply not allow. Tired of the chaos of his party, Baro decides to head out for a drink at the Fiery Rat. Ballyhoo nabs Neddyn and heads for the Seven Flood Inn.


Before the rest of the PCs leave, Conniff informs the golden gnome, Aylward, that perhaps these men have the 'cause' he's been looking for, and that he and his bat should be gone and make some use of themselves. The gnome reluctantly agrees to speak with them, and he follows them out to the Armory Square. After arriving at the Fiery Rat, Baro has a heart to heart with Odd Jon and Flake, before the three decide to get drunk to the memory of Ginkwrench. In the midst of this desobering, a band of polite, black-clad halfling minstrels enters the Rat, and requests permission to perform: Machli and His 'Pies, so they are called. They are skilled and diverse musicians, able to handle requests and immediately pick up business for the Rat, since everyone wants to know who the band is. After some mingling in between songs, the halflings up and leave, believing that they've made the right impression on Odd Jon and will be invited back to perform. Baro stays a bit later before heading back to the barracks at Armory Square.


Meanwhile, Ballyhoo drags Neddyn to the Seven Floods Inn, where the bard is met with great fanfare, and the cripple given preferential treatment for his company. The two are bathed and then fed royally, and a crowd begins to gather once Ballyhoo performs. As usual, a flock of females surrounds the handsome bard, and one persistent woman name Skara makes several 'offers' at Neddyn, who rightfully seems frightened by her outrageous accent and unwelcome amorous advances. Despite Ballyhoo's encouragement, the gnome spurns the woman, but not before she makes off with the bard's platinum. Seeing that the gnome is possibly depressed, and hideously garbed, Ballyhoo snags him once more and drags him over to Swyft the Tailor, who is currently closed, but makes an exception when he sees that it is the noted bard at the door. Swyft is determined to take the raunchy, crippled priest and perform a great transformation....Ballyhoo leaves him off overnight in the capable clothier's hands.

After checking out their vault's safety under the burned Royal Leathers, Mudgol and Gruulsh arrive at the Armory Square with the gnome paladin and his bat, the latter of which perches directly on top of the barracks. Mudgol is almost saddened to find no practical jokes awaiting him. In fact, it turns out that the last two privates who were quartered in Mudgol and Baro's bunks died earlier that day against the githyanki's dragon. Sad times indeed. Some curious soldiers gather outside, and one, a Pvt. Enraz decides he wants to join the PCs unit, so as to procure a dire bat mount for himself (not exactly 'aware' of the truth, dealing with the half-orc diviner). He is told by Gruulsh that he must pass a sparring challenge with her to get into their unit, and it's agreed the two will meet the following morning and duel. The PCs go to their bunk to sleep, Lightwing and Aylward actually sharing a bed together...and then, a drunken Baro lurches in, seeing the ridiculous sight of a giant bat, bugbear and half-orc in his bunk, he lets loose a thunderstone in drunken rage! The stone explodes, causing Lightwing to freak out and smash through the roof!

The commotion attracts angry comments from neighboring barracks, and a shirtless Commander Hoary comes to discipline the PCs, ordering them to repair the whole the next day. But Baro has already fallen into deep sleep...Gruulsh wakes up later to do her rounds in the city, and Ballyhoo makes one more 'stop' at the Cathedral of Blades to learn that his 'sweetheart' has been stashed at a convent in Nobbish, but most of the party has finally drifted off to dreamland.

Essel, Martenin 23rd, 838 ID 

In the morning, after taking his breakfast, Ballyhoo is shocked to discover a divine vision of fashion having arrived at the Seven Floods, showing him up! And it is none other than the cripple Neddyn, whose rose fashioned garments eclipse any in the city. And then the gnome hands Lord Ballyhoo the bill for these tailoring services, and shock ensues. Desperate to get the money he needs, he heads out to join up with the rest of the party. Gruulsh has knocked out Pvt. Enraz and several other soldiers, and along with Mudgol, Lightwing and Aylward, they are repairing the roof to the barracks. Once united, the party goes on a tour of the Keep to sell the stash they got from the githyanki, after putting a few choice items into the party treasure. They reward Aylward with a few complementary gifts, and then sell a huge pile of enchanted and masterwork weapons and armor to Dronn and Teven, who pay them handsomely. They then proceed to pick up a few scrolls and items they can afford, and divide the remainder of the loot amongst themselves, leaving Doorjamb's share with Hoary. Mudgol, unable to find another charity scrying mirror, commissions Dronn Bellowbroth to construct a new one, which should take about a week.

Next, the PCs meet with the newly minted Captain Banghorn, who is once again in charge of their missions, and they begin to discuss resettling their headquarters and vault, since the Royal Leathers is obviously not going to be of much use...

PCs: Aylward, Ballyhoo, Baro, Gruulsh, Mudgol, Neddyn 

NPCs

Machli (halfling male): Plucking at a lovely mandolin of ash and ivory, this smug and portly middle-aged halfling seems to smile with his amber-flecked eyes moreso than his jaw. Adorned in fine-fitting black-dyed leather armor, his rings are aglitter with silver and jewels, as is the hilt of the short sword strapped to his left leg. Machli is a wandering minstrel who travels with eight other musicians he refers to as his 'Pies, and they have recently set their sights on entertaining in Floivin Keep. Machli meets with Odd Jon, Flake and Baro at the Fiery Rat, where they offer their first performance. The evoker and dwarves are taken in with how tight and uniform their performance is, and their ability to draw customers and 'mingle' among them in between numbers.

Pvt. Enraz (human male): An 'ambitious', moustached young soldier in his early 20s, Enraz seems taken in with Aylward's bat mount after the gnome brings it to armory square. He speaks with Mudgol about joining the unit, but then faces a sparring challenge from Gruulsh. Although he tries to get out of the match with the bugbear and face Mudgol instead, he nonetheless shows up for the fight and is dispatched fairly quickly by the monk, though not so quickly as several others unfortunate enough to be chosen for 'training'.

Skara (human female): A swarthy, plump woman with curly black hair and glimmering, dark eyes, she is a prostitute who services the wealthy crowd at the Seven Floods Inn. She speaks with a strange accent that falls somewhere between Jersey and Philly, TWO PLACES THAT DO NOT EXIST IN THIS WORLD, and seems to take a liking to Neddyn Starkweather, if only because the cripple is dining in the presence of the ever popular Lord Ballyhoo.