Farewells and an Uneasy Peace - the Last two session recaps

After the attack, the party questioned their prisoners.  Their assailants were fairly co-operative, and told them their story.  Caelebhan hired them to bring the party to justice for the theft of the book, and supposedly for their possession of the dragonstone.  He was supposed to back them up when they attacked the party, but he wasn't there when they needed him, and they don't know what happened.  The priest of Lugos and Bomar was a little bit upset at the party for killing the monk, Sandeep.  He said that he was the most honorable man he knew, and the bravest, for taking on armed and armored opponents with just his bare hands and feet.  He also said that Sandeep had never killed an opponent, only incapacitated them.

The attackers agreed to speak to Magister Colvin and tell him the truth of the matter, so they summoned him and rehashed everything.  Colvin was able to explain why Caelebhan did not show up at the Inn - Caelebhan responded to Colvin's request to visit with him that evening, and that pulled him away from his intended role in the attack.  Colvin suggested that the party come with him to talk things over with Caelebhan.  He also offered to be a mediator in the dispute.

So the party went to Colvin's keep and met with their arch-nemesis.  Everyone behaved themselves, but Thoric's rhetoric kept straying into belligerency.  Despite that, an agreement was reached.  Caelebhan agreed to never go after the party, nor send anyone after the party for their transgressions.  In return, the party would be permanently exiled from the city of Shandrapur.  Everyone agreed to it, and Colvin witnessed.  When asked, Colvin said that Jemboko had deferred to his judgement on the matter, which didn't surprise the party.

The party agreed to help resurrect Sandeep, or at least put in a good word at the temple for him.  The other party was not prosecuted for their part in the attack, but they were made to pay for damages to the inn.

Maazuni militiamen returned victorious from the assault on the Yuan-ti stronghold, but many came back disturbed.  They had nightmares, and spoke rumors of evil lurking in the dark.  The party decided to investigate further, and found the Yuan-ti portions of the caves deserted.  But they went deeper and found gibbering mouthers and other tentacled monsters.  Before they got much deeper, they were contacted by John Oldhamshire.

John told them to cease their investigations in that cave.  It was a known spawning point for the followers of Qualghma, and the cult needed to grow if the world eater was to be summoned.  And if the world eater could not be summoned, then the trap designed to kill it (this entire planet) would have been a waste of several tens of thousands of years.  The party agreed to leave it alone for now.

The party then turned their attentions to the pirates near Ngabulu.  They managed to get into the main encampment and then killed or captured most of them.  Ander created many one-eyed ex-pirates that day.  In Ngabulu, the party heard that Jemboko's cousin, Kzambo had lost his men, his leg, and his arm in the failed attack against the pirates.  He was rumored to be lurking in the swamps, disgraced.

Thoric contacted his true love, Faiella, and teleported away to spend some time on the open sea with her.

Xakoraki took up residence at the dragonborn enclave, and joined the efforts to build a civilized settlement there.

Boreas and Ander accompanied Vrisana to Orvalion's laboratory in the mountains.  There, two young-ish blue dragons and their minions attacked them.  They were able to drive the dragons away, and a man ran towards them shouting for them to stop their assault.  Ander had seen him before in Shandrapur, and started to question him.

The man, Jemal Kevatman, turned out to be a dragon fetishist.  He was a courtier in the dragonborn empire, and fell in love with dragons back then.  When the rebellion of magisters rose up, he joined them to bring about the downfall of the dragonlords.  He worked for many years with Caelbhan, tracking down the dragonstones.  He felt that Caelebhan only wanted to study them.  But even so, Jemal planned to steal any if they ever came into his possession.  He was effectively a double agent working for the dragons and for Caelebhan.  He was able to track the party through the magic coins to several key locations, including Orvalion's lab and the circle of mirrors.  His patron, Crovanius (an ancient blue dragon) used this information to attack the party and destroy the mirrors shortly after the mallet was forged.  Jemal claimed that Crovanius had no reason to trust the party with any information about dragonstones, and that his aim was to reclaim the stone carried by Orvalion at the time.

Jemal said that the contents of Orvalion's lab were still preserved, but that they probably did not want to stick around in case Crovanius returned.  He also seemed disappointed that Xakoraki had not accompanied them.  So Vrisana and Boreas looted the lab for magical materials and set off to find a new magisterial domain for Vrisana.  Boreas also stated his intent to eventually take Shandrapur as his own domain, once Caelebhan passed away.

And what happened to Ander?  It's a mystery.  But  wherever he went, I'm sure he had Peshtem's blessing.

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I gave the players an end-of-term exam for DND301.  The answers were great!  I'm intending to scan them in and post them here on the blog.  Keep an eye out.

I can't believe we actually came to a satisfactory end of a campaign!  We had some discussion about where the next campaign will go.  I'm inclined to stick with this world, though the players need not be tied to the same characters.  Unchecked dragons, a rising cult of Qualghma, and other loose ends can be explored in future adventures.  We have a lot of good options.  I may even come up with a one-shot adventure to finish off the old Minions campaign.  Who knows?

But for now, we're going to shift back to Star Wars.  Follow along at The Galaxy at War, Forever, the new blog detailing those adventures.

Maazuni Is Where the Heart Is - multiple session recap

I've been busy or slack, depending on how you look at it.  Here's a quick-ish summary of what's been going on.

The party explored the Yuan-Ti temple, and encountered a couple of rooms with deadly traps.  They completely avoided the traps in one, and endured the damage dealt in the second one.  They found a few treasures along the way.

They ended up at the main chamber, which appeared to be a partially ruined temple from an earlier time.  The Yuan-Ti had torn up a section of the flagstones and dug a deep pit which seemed to absorb light.  Yuan-Ti assassins, archers, and priests attacked.  Whenever a Yuan-Ti fell, a shadow rose up to assault the party again.  The group battled to the bottom of the pit, where they found the corrupted Heart of Linitheriva.  It was pitch black instead of ruby red.  It also absorbed the spirit of the slain Yuan-Ti priestess as she fell into the pit.

Thoric took the Heart, and found it to be beautiful.  So beautiful, in fact, that he found his friends to be unworthy of it's presence.  He immediately set out to leave the Yuan-Ti and return to Linitheriva's sanctuary in Maazuni.  The rest of the party had to catch up to him.  Once outside, they teleported back to the city.

Upon arrival, Thoric continued to try to shed his companions, but they followed him to the temple.  The high priestess of Linitheriva took stock of the situation and allowed Thoric to follow her to the inner sanctum.  There he tried to convince her to keep all others from ever seeing the Heart, as it was too beautiful and precious for others.  She pretended to agree with him, and then knocked him unconscious when his back was turned.

In the morning, a ritual was held, and Thoric was in attendance.  The darkness was purged from the Heart, and a black spirit shot into the sky, leaving the gem as it was supposed to be - a large, beautiful ruby.  The shadow over Thoric's mind fled as well.  When the rite of consecration was complete, there was a bright light.  When it faded, the statue of the avatar of Linitheriva once again stood whole.  Thoric was granted a boon by his goddess, and he asked that Kendrini be restored to her lover, Orvalion.  Shortly thereafter, a hooded figure entered the inner sanctum.  It was Kendrini, wearing robes of the temple.  She and Orvalion had a heartwarming reunion, and everyone lived happily ever after.

Except not really.

Vrisana convinced the party to help her defeat Caelebhan, and the first step of her plan involved letting the entire city know who they were, and that they were in Maazuni.  The high priestess agreed to accompany the party to the Captain of the Guard, where they explained their part in the restoration of the Heart, and gave directions for the Yuan-Ti settlement.  The Captain rewarded them for their help, and set about putting together an expeditionary force.

The party set up camp at a fairly nice inn that had once been a fort, and started partying openly.  their plan was to let any spies know of their whereabouts, and lure Caelebhan into attacking them in public.

Two weeks passed uneventfully (except for the weekly orgies at the temple of Linitheriva), until the party noticed a man dressed in desert garb at the bar.  He seemed out of place, but did not stir up trouble.  He appeared to be watching.

A few days after that, in the early evening, the party heard a contingent of troops jog up and surround the inn.  Colvin Swordbreaker, one of the magisters of Maazuni strode in.  He said that if the party had any honor, they would hand over to him the dragonstone in their possession.  When asked why he thought the party had the stone, he said that Caelebhan had informed him of their actions, including their theft of Caelebhan's property.

The party (mostly Thoric) explained to him how they had destroyed the dragonstone.  He seemed to accept that fact, but was not interested in Thoric's assertions that merely seeking the dragonstone made Caelebhan an evil person.  Colvin said that the matter of the theft was still something to be dealt with, and suggested that the party talk it out with Caelebhan using Colvin as a mediator.  The party agreed, and Colvin asked them to swear on their honor not to leave the inn until the meeting.  He left them on their own recognizance.

In discussion with the party, Thoric offered to sacrifice himself, and claim that he was the only one responsible for the theft.  His idea was to spare his comrades from punishment.  Vrisana said that death was not usually a sentence handed out for mere theft, but that servitude of imprisonment might be.

Later that evening, the party noticed the man in the desert robes again, sitting at the bar.  Shortly thereafter, a dwarf with a greatsword and a human with a mace walked in and pushed their way through the crowd to the party's table.  The dwarf asked for Xakoraki, and when she asked who wanted to know, he attacked her.  The man in robes jumped into the fight barehanded, and proved to be a well-trained monk.  The dwarf was a competent fighter, and the human was a warrior cleric of the twin gods Lugos and Bomar.  Another woman stood up from a table acroos the room and attacked with sorcery.

It was a decent fight, but in the end three of the attackers were unconscious, and the monk was killed.  Before she fell, the sorceress called out in dismay, "where's our backup?".  The party was left wondering whether they would soon be facing another set of attackers.

Broken Hearted

The party found the Yuan-Ti temple mostly deserted, and climbed to the sun-worship spire.  There perched the Heart of Linitheriva.  Instead of a ruby, however, it appeared that this huge gem was obsidian.  Thoric reached out unopposed to claim it, but staggered as he touched it.  Frigid cold washed over him, and instead of gently picking it up, he lurched into it and knocked it over.  For an eternity it tumbled down the thousand steps of the pyramid, and then smashed into pieces at the base.  Linitheriva's Heart had been broken.



















But seriously, that's not what happened.  We had another early evening, and spent it playing Dragon's Gold, What's My Share?  Matt cleaned up with 60 points (and most of the gold).  Bastard.

Welcome to the Jungle! - 3/24 session recap

As they trudged through the steamy jungle, Xakoraki stepped into a net trap and triggered a Yuan-Ti ambush.  The party fought well and prevailed.  Only one of the attackers escaped into the dense jungle.

Following The Heart - 3/17 session recap

Thoric spent some time in Maazuni once again trying to discover a cure for thorium poisoning.  He didn't find anyone initially, but did have an encounter.  An urchin ran headlong into him from around a corner and staggered back from the impact.  A man cried out, "Stop!  Thief!"  Without hesitation, Thoric drew his hammer and brought it around to connect with the child's head.  Blood flew from the young thief's mouth, and he collapsed, spilling Thoric's money pouch from his limp hand.  A few coins splashed from the pouch.  As Thoric tended to the wounded boy and whispered a prayer to heal him, other urchins surrounded him and started picking up the coins.  Thoric scattered the crowd, but still lost eight gold pieces.  A guard stepped up, and the urchin wailed that Thoric had attacked him unprovoked.  Thoric said that he was merely stopping a thief, but when he looked around, the man that had originally called out was nowhere to be found.  The guard sent the child running, and explained that it was best not to attack children in town, even if they were cutpurses.

Eventually Thoric went back to the Dwarven enclave on the second tier of town, and ended up paying a dwarven alchemist a thousand gold pieces for research.  He also donated one of his holy symbols to the temple of Linitheriva, and was granted access to a couple of rituals.

The party bought rations and more adventuring gear for their trek into the mountains.  They sought guides or scouts, but found that most everyone with such talents were already employed by the city guard.

Vrisana, fully recovered from her loss of magical abilities, spoke to the party about her desires for the future.  She said that Caelebhan was never going to stop looking for them, and she did not feel like running and hiding for the rest of her life.  She said that she would like to subtly expose herself in town in the hopes that he would think he had the advantage of surprise, and come charging in to attack.

The party had concerns about this, not only for the safety of innocent bystanders, but for the ire it might cause among other magisters.  She countered by saying that if Caelebhan was willing to endanger others for the sake of his revenge, then the party would be fully justified in taking him down, and that such action could only be seen in a positive light by other magisters.  She also had concerns that it was the only way to set up an encounter where he could not bring his full force to bear upon them.  They had already seen what happened at Vrisana's tower, and she had no faith that he could be defeated in a pitched battle.

She admitted that she had no firm plans, but that she would like for the party to think on it some more.  Eventually, she said, they'd have to fight Caelebhan, one way or another.  She just preferred that it be on their terms, not his.

Once they were done in town, the party set off into the jungles to the east of Maazuni to find the Heart of Linitheriva.

Economic Realities 3/10 session recap

The party decided to use their darkvision goggles to pilot through the nights rather than stop at the expected ambush spot.  They took shifts while Djim slept.  There was only one problem : None of the characters were professional river pilots.  They had a couple of minor mishaps, and Boreas managed to crash the barge twice.

Accidents aside, the party managed to avoid the ambush and arrive at Ngabulu intact.  They unloaded the barges and said their farewells to Kiosi.  She disappeared into a covered sedan chair, and was whisked away by guards.  Djim paid the characters in platinum, as agreed, and they left before things got more awkward.

Ander tipped a dock guard 7 gold pieces for information about lodging and transportation.  He recommended a water taxi service, and suggested that they stay at the Brass Bollard, a mid-range inn.  The inn proved to have good accomodations, and Thoric was immediately drawn to a beardless dwarven bard who was playing an accordion with a group of dark elves.  She was likewise drawn to him, and between sets they talked and drank.

Her name was Faiella, and she was an outcast among her kind.  She loved the ocean, and travelled with a crew of dark elves all around the coastlines of the known world.  She appreciated the smooth-skinned look of the elves, and was attracted to Thoric for his relatively sparse beard.  They immediately fell into a romance for a few days.

Vrisana co-habitated with Boreas during the party's stay in town, though neither of them discussed their activities with the rest of the party.

Boreas, Thoric, and Ander went to visit a reagent vendor and tried to purchase a LOT of arcane materials from him.  He said that he didn't have enough on hand, but that he could get enough within a day's time.  He asked for the money up front, and promised delivery.  Boreas was offended and refused.  The shopkeeper explained that as a permanent shop, there was little chance of him cheating Boreas and then running for the hills.  If there was a problem with the delivery, the party knew where to find him.  Plus, he said that he wasn't comfortable keeping that quantity of valuable goods in his shop, as it made him more vulnerable to theft.  Boreas was unmoved.

Thoric plopped down a couple of thousand gold pieces and signed an order with the shopkeeper.  He was also given a receipt.  A day later, his goods were delivered to the inn.  Boreas went back to the shopkeeper satisfied that it wasn't a scam, but found that the price of reagents had jumped up 5%.  Pissed off, he went to other shops and found the same thing.  Apparently word had gotten around that there were buyers in town with thousands of gold to spend on reagents, and prices had spiked in response to new demand.

Fuming, Boreas and Ander returned to Djim.  It turned out that the cargo they had guarded down the river was crates full of arcane reagents, and that Djim still had a supply for sale.  He was willing to sell at regular prices, and an accommodation was reached.

Thoric bid farewell to his lover, who was shipping out that day, and she gave him a wrought-iron talisman with intricate knotwork, the better to find her again.  She promised to cast Sendings when she hit major ports with teleportation circles, that they might find time together in the future.

The party hired two water taxis and made their way south into the swamps to find the teleportation circle.  After memorizing its pattern, they cast the ritual and stepped through to Maazuni.

The Mercenary's Moral Morass - 2/24/2010 session recap

The party collected and divvied up the dragon's loot, then headed back to the dragonborn village.  Everyone was in good spirits, and there was a celebration of sorts.  These people were born and raised as elite soldiers, and were accustomed to strict military discipline.  Unrestrained celebration does not come naturally to them.  But the mood was light, and everyone seemed happy.

Ander suggested to Djim that he set up diplomatic negotiations between Maazuni and this village, and Djim said that he was one step ahead of him.  He had already hired four dragonborn to replace his slain crew as a step towards permanent future relations with this village.  He hopes to employ them not only as guards for the trade barges, but also establish them as another stop on the trade route.

Boreas reduced the lesser magic items to residuum, and then enchanted his clothing.  He offered his bloodcut leather armor to Vrisana, who seemed initially hesitant, but then was seen wearing it the next morning.

Thoric carved a rose into a tree on the outskirts of the village, and tidied up a place for a simple shrine to Linitheriva.  Ander then carved a plank with the word "latrine" and drove it into the ground near the shrine.

The crew, both new and old, constructed a new cabin for the barge, and then the party was off again down the river.

About five days later, Thoric noticed that Djim was looking a bit disturbed by something.  When questioned, Djim told him that even though the stated mission - to deliver Kiosi and the cargo to Ngabulu - was still valid, there was a second mission that was essentially a trap.  He said that swamp pirates had been tipped off about the itinerary, and would be attacking when the barges beached at a standard location about a day away from the city.  He said that that it was expected that the party would be able to inflict serious losses on the pirates, but that the party's well-being was not critical to the plan.  As long as losses were inflicted on the pirates, the mission would be a success.  The real goal was to allow Jemboko's cousin, Kzambo, to attack the weakened pirate force and succeed in removing them as a threat to Ngabulu.  Apparently Kzambo aided the Empire during the rebellion, and fell from grace as a merchant prince when the rebellion succeeded.  Clearing out the pirates would restore his reputation - if he could claim the victory as his own.

This sparked some intense discussions amongst the party.  Here are some of the key points of various characters:

Thoric : Going into the mission forewarned would make it easier to prevail, the party could get some extra money for keeping silent on their involvement, and meeting Jemboko's unstated goals would make Jemboko indebted to the party for their discretion.  He also stated that he would give his life to protect Kiosi, regardless of which course of action the party took.

Xakoraki : She was unwilling to do anything to help Kzambo, who is a known collaborator of the late Empire.  Helping him, even for money, would be wrong.

Ander : He would not knowingly murder a group of sentients, even if they were pirates, and even if they attacked first.  He also had serious qualms about capturing any of them, knowing that they would merely face the death penalty under the existing laws of Ngabulu.  He also raised the fear that if Jemboko or Kzambo were willing to pay them for their silence, there would also be a risk of them being willing to kill the party instead.

Orvalion : People in power are used to using other people as tools, and are not known to tell such tools the entirety of their plans.  He pointed out that mercenary work, such as their current job, is inherently dangerous, and that unknown mortal peril were part and parcel with such employment.  As such, he didn't feel that a fight with the pirates would be outside of their contract as guards.  He also opined that people in power didn't tend to break their tools intentionally.

Vrisana : Jemboko is a wizard, and as such is interested in power.  Wizards aren't known for giving away all of their secrets, so she was not surprised there was a hidden agenda.  She thinks that Jemboko is crafty, but that he probably doesn't have anything against the party.  However, she wouldn't trust him implicitly, except to keep up his end of the bargain - i.e. paying them for delivering his cargo safely.  And she thinks he is more trustworthy than Caelebhan.

Boreas : He would like to get extra cash for the setup.  He didn't want to piss off *every* magister the party has ever met by intentionally cheating them.  But he was okay with the idea of skipping the pirates entirely, fulfilling the stated mission, and leaving Kzambo to his fate.

Mike the GM : The party cannot reasonably claim ignorance of the setup while also negotiating for extra cash.  Extra cash will only come through going beyond the stated contract and being discrete about it, by blackmailing Jemboko and Kzambo (asking for hush money), or by outright stealing.  The latter two options make Ander's fears more likely to come true.

A Dragon, Vanquished - 2/10 and 2/3 session recaps

The party set out with nine dragonborn hunters to find one of the dragons that had attacked their barge. They came across an island that was formed around the arching roots of a gigantic tree. Smoke was detected coming from one side of the island, and upon investigation they found a camp of humans. The human sentries gave warning: "It's the ones he was telling us about! Get 'em!"

After a brief skirmish with barbarians and rogues, all but one of them were slain. The one remaining offered up some information under threat of torture. He said that the dragon had found his band a few weeks ago and offered them each a gold piece a day to protect his lair. Searching the corpses only turned up about seven gold pieces per person, and when questioned the survivor said that they hadn't been paid in full yet. He said that there was another entrance on the other side of the island, somewhere underwater. Thoric and Xakoraki confirmed, each with their own impeccable knowledge of dragons, that black dragons were aquatic, and could breathe underwater.

The party decided on the dry approach. They encountered some deathspore fungus in a small chamber, but failing to detect any treasure they continued onward. They found a couple of elfinoid skeletons and noticed a rotted bag of coins among the remains. A little further down the passage, and an otyugh attacked them, focusing its efforts on dragging Xakoraki into its lair. It was dispatched fairly quickly, and no treasure was found among the moldering remains.

The party came to the dragon's lair, which was partially submerged. They approached cautiously, but did not see anything until Ander started peering at the pile of treasure that was at the edge of the water. The dragon burst forth, and stunned a few party members with its initial roar, but soon Ander had tricked it into a bad position. Surrounded by the party and a couple of dragonborn allies, it clouded itself with magical darkness and sprayed acid everywhere. Boreas had taken the precaution of warding his allies from acid, however, and the dragon breath had little effect on anyone. Boreas also summoned an icy, disembodied hand, which kept grabbing the dragon by the tail and holding it in place. Xakoraki was able to keep it from fleeing as well during the few times it broke free from the conjuration. Thoric's summoned rose battered the creature about the head, disorienting it, and making it easier to hit the dragon in the blinding darkness.

After a long (very long) fight, the dragon seemed to realize it could not win. It offered to parley, and asked what the party wanted. Xakoraki replied, "All of your treasure and your scaly hide!"** The party then ended the dragon's life with a few more stabs, slashed, and spells.

All of the treasure that the party was seeking to recover seemed to be heaped into a huge pile along with more treasure and items to be split among themselves and their allies.

The campaign will now continue into the paragon tier, and the players can now choose their character's paragon paths. Treasure distribution and leveling up will be the first orders of business for the next session.

** quote may be misattributed

Rolling down the river - session recaps through 1/27/2010

The first encounter on the river was with giant crocodiles. The monstrous beasts tried to climb on board the barges and eat crewmembers, and they succeeded in eating one of the regular crew on the other craft. Thoric was nearly devoured, but Xakoraki pulled him free, risking her own life to do so. Eventually, the crocs were repelled. There was some sort of crocodile orgy going on across the river, and the barges rolled over them without further incident.

On the morning of the second day, they entered the relatively still waters of a swampy lake. The sun had not yet burned off the mist when two black dragons ambushed the barges from below the surface. They savaged the crew of the other barge, and did some serious damage to the party. But Ander was able to jump onto the dragon and stab it repeatedly while hanging under its wing, and the other characters also landed some pretty serious blows. Xakoraki was able to keep the dragon from fleeing, and well-timed spell from Boreas kept the dragon from absconding with Kiosi.

The other dragon joined the fight, and landed on the roof of the cabin where Boreas was standing. Two more characters jumped up to join the fight, and then Boreas let loose with a thunderwave that collapsed the cabin beneath them. Djim was trapped in the wreckage, and cargo started sliding off the side. The dragon smelled the platinum, and started digging in the debris for it. Then both of the dragons consipired to tip the boat and dump the platinum overboard so that they could collect it. The party got off a parting shot before the barge drifted away from the site of sunken treasure, but the dragons managed to take wing with a small chest of platinum apiece.

The collapsing cabin disrupted the binding for the elemental that drove the barge. It took everyone working the poles, but they were able to steer the barge into the other one and lash them together. They revived three crew members, but were unable to save the rest. They steered towards the bank and started salvaging what they could.

While they were working, three canoes with black dragonborn approached. They halted at a polite distance and hailed the dragonborn in the party as brothers, asking if they could provide assistance. The party accepted, and the dragonborn drew alongside the barge. The leader introduced himself as Kojex, and said that his hunting party was on it's way to slay the dragons that attacked the party. He said that two days ago the dragons had killed a foraging party and taken some crates of gold.

The party entered into an agreement with the dragonborn - They would hunt the dragons together and retrieve their treasure, and anything else that the dragons had would be split evenly among all members of the combined hunting party. Djim, Kiosi, Orvalion, Vrisana, and the three crew members would stay at the dragonborn village while the rest of the party went with Kojex and his eight hunters. Kojex also extended an invitation to Orvalion and Xakoraki, telling them they were welcome to join the village whenever they were ready to settle down.

Precious Cargo - 12/2 session recap

The high priestess Rillani came to speak to Thoric, and told him of a way that might bring back Kendrini. Back in the days when Maazuni was first built, Linitheriva's avatar walked in the flesh. When she departed for the astral plane once again, her mortal remains became a beautiful statue of marble with a heart of ruby. The statue itself was known to produce miracles. The ruby, known now as the Heart of Linitheriva, was stolen by the Yuan-Ti when they sacked the city about 1500 years ago, and has not been seen since. If the players were to recover it, Kendrini might be raised by the power of love during the re-consectration ceremony. Sadly, Rillani had no firm leads on the heart's whereabouts, and could only say that it would probably be in a temple belonging to the Yuan-Ti, out in the mountainous jungles to the southeast.

A half-elven man came calling at the inn, and introduced himself as Djim. He said that his master was looking for someone to guard a shipment heading downriver to Ngabulu. It turned out that his master was Jemboko Pzwani, one of the two magisters in Maazuni. After some preliminary negotiations with Ander, Jemboko offered 40 platinum pieces per person for the job, a two and half week trip downriver with a valuable cargo to protect. Not only were there rare herbal ingredients and a shipment of platinum, but also a wealthy merchant's daughter, heading downriver to be married in Ngabulu.

The daughter's name was Kiosi, and Jemboko said that she was only 16 and full of energy. She was looking for adventure, and Jemboko was trying to make sure that she didn't find it. He said he was hiring outsiders because Kiosi might try to use her political status to sway the regular guards. The party's job was to see that she got there safely, along with the other cargo.

When asked why they didn't simply teleport her there, he said that the official teleport circle was in the middle of the river delta swamp to the south of Ngabulu, and represented a danger. But more importantly, he was trying to placate Kiosi, who wanted a final adventure before settling down as a wife of a merchant.

Jemboko also asked the party to pass his regards to Vrisana. He had been informed of the situation by Caelebhan, but did not really see eye to eye with him, and refused to be coerced. He also said that this played a part in his wanting to hire the party, as he knew that anyone who could kick sand in Caelebhan's eye would be quite competent indeed.

Thoric meditated for a day, and found that he could sense the heart of Linitheriva, or at least its general direction.

In the middle of the night on the second day, Djim collected the party and they set out on their river adventure.

Why are we here? 11/18 session recap

The party waited all day for Vrisana and Boreas to regain consciousness. They remained next to the teleportation circle until close to nightfall, when their companions began to stir. Ander climbed a tree and was able to see down slope about 20 miles to the city. There was a footpath down the mountain that they could follow, but they decided to wait until morning, rather than traipse through the jungle in the dark. Someone wondered aloud why they were even here, and Orvalion said that they sounded like an amateur philosopher.

Vrisana said that she knew of two magisters in the city, and that it probably wouldn't be a good idea for her to go about openly as herself. Thoric gave her a short but stylish haircut, Xakoraki lent her some clothes, and after some magical resizing, Ander gave her his magic leather armor. She looked very little like a powerful mage afterwards.

The properties of Thorium were once again discussed in detail. Some items from that discussion:
- Thorium absorbs all magic, including deific magic. Thus, a cleric could call down a spell from their deity, but if they were wielding or infected by thorium, the spell would not affect them. It would affect another target, however.
- Dwarves are immune only to the poisoning effects of thorium, but are still affected by the anti-magic properties.
- A blood transfusion from a dwarf would not help a human or an elf with thorium poisoning.
- Polymorph was said to work, but the DM has since recanted (polymorph is magic, and thus wouldn't work as soon as the character came into contact with thorium)
- The permanent damage from thorium poisoning is slow and cumulative. The dose that Vrisana and Boreas received will not reduce their stats at all.
- Thorium in the body will eventually process out.

The next day, the party traveled to the city. They encountered nothing unusual, though Thoric picked a lovely flower and pressed it in his ritual book. As they reached the broader trail about a mile from the city, they saw a couple of farmers pulling a cart into town. Ander, Thoric, and Vrisana went to help them and to gather some information as well. The farmers were wary at first, but soon warmed to the conversation.

The farmers said that the city was starting to get a bit crowded because lizardfolk and yuan-ti had become more aggressive lately. Some farmers had been slain, but many bodies were never recovered. This has started a rumor that the one or both groups of attackers were taking slaves or eating people. But the farmers were quick to say that the city Guard sent frequent patrols to the nearby farming communities, and praised Magister Colvin for his leadership in this protection.

Ander suggested that with the increased demand and decreased supply of food, that business must be pretty good for the remaining farmers. The farmers shrugged and said that it did, a little, but that there were laws limiting the maximum price on critical goods, including food. One said that if things got dangerous enough out in the fields, then they'd just pack up and move to the city until they could re-settle their land.

At the city gate, the farmers each produced a brass token, which they showed to the guards in order to be let through. When the party did not show such a token, the guards asked politely for 5 silver per person. The guards said that if they found permanent residence in the city, then they could purchase a token themselves for one gold piece per person. The tokens would be good for the rest of the year.

Ander asked about employment opportunities as a mercenary, but the guard could only suggest joining the city Guard. The standard length of service was two years, and pay would be distributed to family members even when a guardsman was out on extended patrol. Death benefits were also pretty good, with five gold being paid to the family plus two weeks extra pay. Food and board, plus money for family. He said it was a good deal.

Boreas, Xakoraki, and Orvalion had little trouble getting through the gate too, and they all met up outside of a guard station, where Ander inquired about obtaining a gate token. He was told that he needed permanent residence in the area. The party started looking for an inn to stay in until they could find long-term lodgings in the city. It took seven tries before they found an inn with any rooms available. They got two rooms for 14 silver a night, and Ander and Thoric immediately set out into the city to look for real estate and the temple district.

They stopped at another guard post and inquired about neighborhoods with houses for sale. The guard said that there was a housing shortage, and that they'd be better off trying to rent an apartment. He also suggested that if they could find employment, then their employer might be able to provide lodgings. Ander said he was looking for mercenary work, and asked where he might find some. The guard said that the Acid Barrel was a bar that often catered to honorable armsmen. Thoric inquired about temples, and the guard said that the proper temples were on the second tier, as well as a small dwarven enclave.

At the Acid Barrel, Ander tipped the bartender a couple of gold and asked about mercenary work. The bartender didn't know of anything immediately, but that he would send a message around to wherever Ander was staying if he heard anything.

One the way to the second tier, Thoric noticed that all of the storm gutters drained towards the center of the city. This was peculiar, as most cities didn't want to drown in their own sewage. Ander said that he'd discover the answer, and went looking for the dwarven enclave. He asked the first dwarf he met about the drains. The dwarf said that in ancient times, when the city was first hewn from the living rock, they went down so far that they broke into a cavern system. The sewers were designed to drain into these massive caverns, which acted essentially as a bottomless pit. He said there were rumors of a deep underground river, but he couldn't personally verify that.

They then headed to the temple of Linitheriva just before dusk. They gained an audience with a priestess, who listened politely to their request. Thoric said that he wished to raise someone from the dead. She said that this was not usually the mission of Linitheriva. Ander showed her his dagger, with the markings of Yama on it, and said that perhaps this god was more appropriate for the task. She looked slightly disturbed that he had such an item, but said that Yama did not raise people from the dead. Instead, Yama made sure that everyone is buried. She suggested that Enara, as the goddess of the life force, might be a better source of information on the matter. Thoric persisted, however, and explained that the person who died was deeply in love with someone still alive, and that this person was likewise in love with the departed. He mentioned the sacrifices and torments of the surviving lover, and hoped that Linitheriva would be able to find a way to reunite them. This piqued the priestess' interest, and she said that there might be some precedence for such a thing. She offered him a cell to live in while she researched, since he was a cleric of her goddess as well. She assured Ander that should he come calling for his friend, he could be fetched by one of the acolytes.

Turnabout's Fair Play - 11/11 session recap

Thoric had a crisis of conscience, and suggested that instead of double-billing Caelebhan, the party ought to come clean and return his book instead. He also suggested offering to find a cure for his thorium poisoning. Xakoraki countered by saying that they should find such a cure before trying this ploy. In the end, the party's plan remained the same - to teleport in the morning to Maazuni in search of information and riches.

In the morning, however, as the party was stirring, they heard the sound of humans barking orders, and the jingling of armored men outside. Vrisana headed for the top of the tower, and Thoric took a peek through the slot in the door. He saw a group of nine armored men about 30 feet away.

Boreas followed Vrisana up into the tower, and set off an alarm as soon as he entered her bedroom. She asked him what the heck he was doing up in her private room, and he said he was heading up top to help defend the tower. She argued with him briefly, not wanting her private room or laboratory to be invaded, but she relented, and he went up top with her and Xakoraki. They saw that they were surrounded by five groups of nine men.

One of the men down below called out to Vrisana, and told her that by Caelebhan's order, and by the will of the council of magisters, she was to turn herself over to his custody. If she had not agreed to this within two minutes, he said they would take the tower by force. Vrisana did not respond to him, but made it clear to the party that she was not going to be taken without a fight. On the ground floor, Orvalion started the ritual to open a linked portal to Maazuni, and said that it would be ready in ten minutes.

True to his word, after two minutes, the tower was attacked. Earth elementals rose from the ground and started pounding on the tower. Vrisana responded with lightning bolts.

Boreas summoned his dancing sword and a poisonous cloud, and eliminated one of the groups over the course of less than half a minute. The other groups, seeing this, backed off quickly and were able to avoid the same fate. Thoric rained holy power down upon the elementals as well.

After five minutes of this, the tower was starting to come apart at the seams. Sandstone bricks worked loose and the floor rocked beneath their feet. There was a flash, and Vrisana cursed. She said that the wards had been breached. At that moment, she was struck by a crossbow bolt. Floating in the air to the side of the tower was Caelebhan. In his hand was a smal crossbow, and he didn't look happy.

Thoric and he exchanged words, and Caelebhan said that he had suspected that Vrisana was involved in their conspiracy. When Thoric asked what his grievances were, he listed them:
- The party lied to him about knowing Orvalion's whereabouts
- They made his city think it was under attack
- They stole his book
- They played with his emotions by using Vrisana to distract him
- And to top it off, they destroyed the dragonstone as well

Caelebhan's demands were that they turn Vrisana over to him and return his book. In reparations, he also demanded a service from the party. Vrisana had stopped casting spells as soon as she was hit with the crossbow bolt, and during the conversation she started to look pale. She finally fainted, and Thoric picked her up and carried her downstairs.

Xakoraki told Orvalion that no matter what happened, that he was to save himself once the portal was open. Then the party went outside to parley. Three of the groups of soldiers approached the tower, and two men handed their weapons over to their comrades before approaching Thoric. Their intent seemed to be to take Vrisana from him. He refused, and the men backed off and reclaimed their weapons. Caelebhan was nowhere to be seen. Thoric demanded that he show himself so that they could talk. Calebhan's voice responded that the party was in no position to make demands. He asked for Vrisana again, and when he was refused he said, "Take them!"

Boreas attacked one of the elementals with his dancing sword, and moved the poison cloud towards one of the groups. He was answered with two crossbow bolts. One skimmed his arm, and the other embedded itself in his leg. He immediately felt a burning sensation. Xakoraki waited for the soldiers to advance, then melted the faces off of several with her acid breath. Ander incapacitated another half-dozen with shuriken, and Kylian held his ground against the elemental. Thoric blasted away at the other elemental, and eventually brought it down.

Boreas, however, found that his spells were failing, and he was unable to cast anything new. He started to feel woozy, and retreated into the tower. He pulled the bolt out of his leg, and saw that it was designed to deliver an injection upon impact.

The party held out for another round or two, and then Orvalion completed the portal. He jumped through immediately, and Boreas followed. Xakoraki saw the edges of the portal waver a bit as Boreas stepped through, and then she went through carrying Vrisana. Thoric noticed the same wavering as Vrisana passed through, then he, Ander, and finally Kylian jumped in.

The air on the other side was humid and oppressive, but the portal closed behind them, and they found themselves alone in mountainous jungle. Boreas passed out, and Thoric used his healing skill to examine him. He determined that Vrisana and Boreas had been injected with a poison mixed with thorium. It was sapping their magical abilities quite effectively, and he realized that healing magic would simply increase the amount of damage. He reasoned that the poison would run it's course, and that they would both be okay in about a week. He also speculated that if enough healing magic were poured into them, then the thorium would dissipate faster, but in so doing would do more permanent radiation damage.