Session 7: Amilya and the Dame of Dirt. Report

General Summary

Session 7 – Wednesday Aug 17th, 2022 – Amilya and The Dame of Dirt

  4 Hour session 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Party of 7(The Stone Bearers):

It is the 9th day of the month of Marpenoth (Leaffall) in the 50th year of the Age of Enialis (Early October.)

• Abrash – Wood (Dessert) Elf L3 Druid – Jacob Munson
• Ajani– High Elf L3 Wizard – Nathan Gioconda
• Gazlowe – Goblin L3 Artificer – Josh Pozsonyi
• Thomas – Human L3 Blood hunter – Ryan Armstrong (Remote)
• Gurthen – Dwarf L3 Paladin – Spencer Armstrong
• Isabella – Forest Gnome L3 Barbarian – Jackie Armstrong
• Amilya Grayheart – Human L2 Wizard – Rachel Rosborough

Goals:

• Recover the body of a missing adventurer, Amilya Grayheart, who disappeared in a sorcerer’s tower about 20 years ago.
• Bring the body back to Ulfgar Longwood in Zelbross for a 200gp reward.
• What to do with the Sorcerer who captured Amilya?

Decisions

The party discussed the possible options on how to deal with the Wizard in the bottle and the Sorcerer in the bottle. They posited the idea of taking the Sorcerer back to the temple or destroying it. Ajani thought disposing of it would be better. Thomas agreed that ending the Sorcerer’s life quickly was acceptable. Isabella smashed the Alembic on a rock, and it shattered. The green mist of the essence of the sorcerer turned into an anguished face that faded away.

Regarding Amilya, they discussed the options of freeing her now or taking her back to Ulfgar. Gazlowe suggested that if she is free and doesn’t want to see Ulfgar they may not get paid. The party agreed that she’s been in stasis for 20 years, so what’s a few more days? The three-day journey back to Zelbross was uneventful.

Amilya

The party made it back to Ulfgar’s mansion and Gazlowe asked if he would pay more if they had her alive? Ulfgar was confused and surprised. They put the bottle on the table with a tiny Amilya inside it. They explained how they disposed of the Sorcerer. Ulfgar was reluctant to believe it. Gazlowe removed the cork from the bottle, and with a whiff of smoke, Amilya appeared next to Gazlowe, and she immediately punched him. She backed away from the goblin, very confused and sparks flew from her hands as she wanted to cast more spells, but they were exhausted. The party called her by name, but she said, “I don’t know you, and I don’t know you, and I don’t know you (the last one looking at Ulfgar.) Ulfgar was unfamiliar because he was 20 years older while for her, no time had passed.

Everyone tried to explain her situation, but Amilya didn’t believe it. Ulfgar tried to convince her who he was. She was very confused and afraid. Ulfgar showed her that he had no leg and tried to prove who he was by talking about the Gnolls and how she saved him. Amilya asked about her fallen friends from her last adventuring party, and Gazlowe told her they left them because they were all smelly and didn’t fit in the bag. She asked if they were properly buried and the party told her no, not really.

Amilya asked about Jex her former boyfriend. Ulfgar told her that he’s still alive, and he helped provide some key information that helped them find her. He also told her that Jex is married and has 3 children. Saddened, and needing to make sense of her situation, Amilya left them and went out into the streets of Zelbross. Some in the party followed Amilya out while Gazlowe and Ajani stayed behind to get paid. Gazlowe was able to persuade Ulfgar to pay them a little extra (250gp total) for bringing her back alive.

A little down time to train and level up.

Amilya walked out into Zelbross and saw the changes to the town. She realized that what everyone told her was true. The Stone Bearers caught up to her and they told her what they all do and asked her about her capabilities. With no other purpose in her life and nowhere to go she accepted the party’s invitation to join them at Lord Blackmoor's estate and then join them on their next adventure. First, Amilya had to go back and apologize to Ulfgar. They hugged and cried a bit together and then she joined the Stone Bearers. The party led her to the Blackmoor estate where they all continued their training. After 3 days of training, studying, and experimenting they party leveled up to level 3. Gazlowe gave everyone their share of the gold from Ulfgar. The party did a little shopping and obtained spell components and some basic supplies. Thomas spent some time with Zoreene and helped her put together a case for a lesser sentence for her crimes.

The Dame of Dirt.

Lord Blackmoor told the party that the Dame of Dirt has a discrete opportunity for an adventuring party. Amilya (needing an adventure as a distraction) immediately said “We’ll take it.” Lord Blackmoor told them where to go and Gurthen pulled out his sword and said “For Glory” as he led the way into Zelbross. They found a building with a kobold out front waving a shaker board that read “Ore Exchange.” He was in front of an enormous wooden shop. Above the door was a wooden model of a bugbear wielding a pickaxe, and rocky letters beneath that spelled out, “THE DAME OF DIRT." The pickaxe moved back and forth jerkily, as though the bugbear is swinging it. Through two large open doors, they saw the interior of the shop had been stripped bare. In the middle of the dirt floor was a mineshaft, over which was suspended a rickety wooden platform with a rail fence. The kobold with the sign squinted at the party, coughed, and pointed at the platform.

Hesitantly the party boarded the platform and they saw an indicator dial that went from 0 to 300 with the pointer currently pointing at 300. There was a lever with 3 settings: Stop, Slow, Fast. Gazlowe pushed it the lever to fast and the platform rapidly descending. As the platform reached 40, Amilya tried to slow it down but didn’t have the strength to pull the lever back. With the platform about to slam into the bottom Thomas flung his whole body against the lever and pushed it to the slow position as the platform hit the ground. Isabella dove on Amilya to protect her, and the party only took a little bit of bludgeoning damage from the impact.

Mining kobolds rushed to examine and repair the platform and they pointed the party to a shack with a sign that read “Proprietor.” They went in and saw a small office containing an oversized cedar desk, a few small chairs, and an empty bookshelf. A clay statue, still wet, stood in the corner. It was roughly 10’ tall and depicted a male dragonborn striking an aristocratic pose. Behind the desk was a large woman with dark braided hair and stone-gray skin. She looked up and her frown turned to a smile— “Ah, you must be the Stone Bearers! Please, take a seat! I have QUITE the business opportunity for you!”

Brynlee Silverthorn’s situation

The sign on her desk read “Brynlee Silverthorn, The Dame of Dirt.” Thomas recognized that she was part Earth Genasi and Human. She asked the party if they were familiar with “The Clockwork Queen?” The party responded affirmatively. She went on: “The Clockwork [expletive] (that’s my little name for her) used to be a close personal acquaintance of mine. It was a good partnership. I’d supply her with the very best metal for her creations, and she supplied me with a small army of clockwork miners which were, I admit, were quite remarkable.” She went on to explain that at some point in time they had a falling out and Bynlee said that the Clockwork [expletive] started it. She shared how they have been they have been feuding for several years now, committing petty acts of vandalism against each other, such as defaming signs, forging order forms, and so on. Brynlee hired a dragonborn spy named Xander to assist her industrial espionage. He is the one depicted in the clay statue. Using her geological knowledge, Brynlee discovered a secret underground entrance into the tower of the Clockwork Queen. Xander used this to enter the Queen’s factory when spying. Brynlee eventually fell in love with the dashing Xander, and they were engaged to be married.

“The Clockwork [expletive] was very jealous when she found out about my marriage! It was delicious! But she couldn’t let me be happy—she never could. A week ago, Xander went on one of his raids and never returned. Then I received a note from the Clockwork [expletive] telling me she has him prisoner and threatening to hurt him if I do anything about it. All my life she has taken every good thing of mine. Now she has taken my husband! But he is mine! Mine!” She shared the note:  

Dear Brynlee,

Your husband, Xander, is no longer yours. I suppose you could call him my prisoner—but don’t worry, he is being well taken care of. Stop your stupid acts of sabotage, stay away from my tower, and all will be well.

—Regards, Tereene

 

The proposition

Gazlowe asked if she wants them to deal with this “witch.” She replied, “I’ll give you 1,000 gp to help me retrieve my husband.” Gazlowe’s jaw fell to the table. She explained that the floors are in constant motion so a direct assault isn’t really possible, but her kobold Poodrags can take them to a secret passageway. If they can make their way to the penthouse floor, they’ll find a large red “Emergency Shutdown” switch that will halt all mechanical activity in the tower and open the fire escapes. Brynlee can then charge up the fire escape with “her boys” and free Xander.

Brynlee expressed joy at the idea of the party taking what they want or doing a bit of damage along their way. But when Isabella suggested, “Why don’t you just kill her,” Brynlee looked very appalled by the idea. Even Gazlowe was surprised by that. The party dismissed the idea and asked what Xaner looked like. She pointed to the clay statue and said, “He looks like that but with green skin.” The party accepted the mission and Poodrags guided them to the tunnel.

The tunnel

Thomas suggested that they party split up and try to just talk with the Clockwork Queen to get the other side of the story. But the rest of the party wanted to stick together and then have a discussion if they should meet the Clockwork Queen. Poodrags handed 3 oars to the party and held one himself. They boarded a boat and launched into an underground stream.

After an hour, the water became rough. Thomas used his understanding of nature and how water flows to help stabilize the boat. Gazlowe used his dexterity to help guide the boat. Ajani went to the front of the boat and cast shape water over and over again to control the current and stabilize the boat. Abrash used his perception skill to help point out things to Ajani. Gurthen used his power of persuasion to encourage the others and build their morale. Isabella grabbed Thomas’s oar and used her athletics prowess to control the boat. Amilya investigated the boat looking for weakness and helped position the others to best utilize their skills.

The party successfully navigated the rapids. The water calmed down after that and the party continued quietly in the darkness. After another hour they could hear a hissing in the distance. They rounded a bend and then could see a steamy glow ahead as they approached a locked gate.

The Furnace Room.

Gazlowe pulled out his lock picks and quickly picked the lock. The party carefully and silently pushed the gate open as the boat floated into the room. Heat blasted their face as they entered this underground furnace room. A thick layer of steam fogged up the room, and they heard the river beneath them simmer. Cast iron pipes were woven all around the rocky enclosure and into the river. Through the haze, they could barely make out a team of strange clockwork creations shoveling coal into a giant furnace. Close by it, a huge boiler gurgled and whistled.

They carefully exited the boat. Isabella cast minor illusion to amplify the sound of the steam furnaces and help hide their presence. Gazlowe contemplated blowing up the Furnace, but others whispered “No!” Thomas could feel the heat from the pipes that blocked their movement. Thomas put a blanked on one of the pipes and gracefully squeezed through the pipes without touching them. They all noticed the mechanical creatures, but the creatures didn’t seem to notice Thomas. Thomas stealthily made his way to a door and saw an elevator button with two foreign images.

Abrash turned into a wolf spider and crawled across the wall to make it to where Thomas was. Gurthen channeled some athletic abilities and very athletically hurled the pipes. Abrash helped cushion his landing with a bit of spider webs. Gazlowe spent a couple minutes and used a disguise kit to make himself look like an automaton. His disguise seemed to work as he walked past the workers. Amilya gracefully used Thomas’s blanket and crossed the pipe. Isabella was able to slip under the pipes.

Ajani stood in fear against the back walls and heard his old gym coach in his head yelling, “Get over those high jumps if you want to pass this class!” After a minute of cowering, he messaged Gurthen asking for help. Gurthen came back and helped Ajani through the pipes. They all made it to the door undetected. Thomas pressed the top button, and they went in.

The Factory

The door opened and they saw two treaded tracks crossing the entire length of the room. Several clockwork creatures wielding hammers, drills, cutters, and presses were building parts and assembling various types of clockwork goods. A large clockwork machine crawled slowly along the ceiling. It consisted of a bewildering array of gears, rods, ratchets, levers, and wheels, all clicking away at high speed. The party sat, trying to be silent as they discussed how to proceed. Ajani stood up with his back straight and started waving his arms in precise movements. He spoke aloud the mystical words: “Cundar viewsa vilista!” The entire room became heavily obscured by a Fog Cloud. At the same time Isabella minor Illusioned the sound of steam to obscure the casting of the spell.

Across the loudspeaker came the mechanical message “Nimrod – Pursuit Mode Engaged.” The bots in this room started saying “Malfunction, search for malfunction.” The device on the ceiling started saying “Intruder alert!” The whole party raced along the wall to find the other door. They found the door and felt two buttons next to it and pressed the top button. The door opened and they went in.

The Stockade

Several barred cages lined a wall of this room, one of which was occupied by a clockwork humanoid. Against another wall sat a metal container, covered in warning labels. They also found a log on a clipboard that listed prisoners for the past couple weeks. Looking at it they found that Xandar’s name wasn’t in the log. Gazlowe however was drawn to the large metal container with the warning labels. As Gazlowe approached the large box, the bot in the cage repeated the phrase “Guard the Vault. Terminate Humans.”

Gazlowe felt heat emanating from the large container, but it didn’t feel as if it would burn. Thomas walked to the elevator and pushed one of the buttons. Gazlowe kneeled by the keyhole on the large chest and began picking it. The first lock pick broke. He used another and it too broke. Little shards of metal sliced into his fingers, and he became extremely upset. They heard on the loudspeaker, “Nimrod, Patrol mode.” Begrudgingly, they all got in the elevator and went to the next floor.

Research Lab.

The next room was full of half-built machines and robots. A large table dominated the center of the room, and it was covered in schematics, gears, and other equipment. Two things caught their eyes on the table; one was a long silver spear with a glittering tip, the other was a square brass box with a crystal dome on top. A small clockwork lifter was organizing the clutter into neat piles and totally ignoring the party. Gazlowe approached the box and a metallic voice from it said: “Hello? Is that you, Tereene?”

Gazlowe pretended to be Tereene, but the box knew better. Gazlowe told it his real name and the box introduced herself as Abby, the Clockwork Queen’s old mentor. She explained that she was dying of an incurable disease, but she worked with Tereene to preserve her brain and then build a clockwork body for her. Unfortunately, the progress on her body has been very slow and Abby seemed to question the nature of life. She indicated that she was prepared to end her existence and pursuing a mechanical extension may be unnatural. Gazlowe, however convinced her that he was a tinkerer who could work with her to build a new body for her and that he needed her help. With the excitement of hope she listened; he persuaded her. The box was not heavy but was a bit awkward to carry. Gazlowe picked up the brain in the box. She had him write a note to Tereene that she was leaving of her own will.

They examined the spear. It had a shiny, silver shaft with a glass point on the tip. Small sapphires dotted the entire length. Two curly copper wires were attached to either side, with the wire ends terminating in two separate flasks—one filled with a silvery liquid, and the other with a brown liquid. They asked about the spear and Abby told them that it will be a magical spear called Icewrath. It’s just about complete but needs to be charged. To charge, it must be plunged into the heart of an icy monster (such as a frost giant, white dragon, yeti, etc.) After it’s charged it will become magical and can do extra cold damage. Gurthen handed the spear to Isabella and Gazlowe grabbed all the schematics he could find.

Security hub

The party went to the elevator and pushed the button that looked like a bunch of bleeding holes. With some help from Abby they determined that this is the security room where Nimrod is wound. They heard the voice over the loudspeaker again, “Nimrod, Pursuit mode engaged.” Abby explained that means Nimrod has detected someone and is usually within one floor of them. He is usually just in patrol mode. They examined what Abash called Scrying glass and then decided to leave the room. As usual there were two elevator buttons. One of them looked like a fire ball, the other a vault. Gazlowe pressed the vault button.

The Vault

They saw a large, steel door at the far side of the room. It was bedecked with a massive, spoked door handle and had a keyhole like that on the large chest they saw in the stockade. Again, they heard, “Nimrod, pursuit mode engaged.” Gazlowe went directly to the vault and started picking the lock mechanism. He discovered that there are 3 separate tumblers inside the keyhole and was able to pick all 3 very quickly. He spun the door handle and the door opened. Gazlowe ran in and Gurthen followed. The door swiftly closed behind him.

As the door closed Gurthen tuned and saw two eyes appear on the back of the door. Then a mouth appeared with sharp pointy teeth. The door’s tongue flew out and smacked Gazlowe and grappled him. The party heard a muffled “Aughh” from Gazlowe. Amilya messaged Gazlowe and he responded, “The door is attacking us!” The door Mimic held Gazlowe at bay as his arms flailed ineffectively. Ajani critically blasted the door with a ray of frost, but it had no effect. Isabella Struck the door with her greatsword. Gurthen struck the Mimic with a glancing blow and smote it. Thomas tried to pull open the door but didn’t have the strength.

The Mimic chomped into Gazlowe and Gazlowe cast absorb elements, absorbing some of the acid. Amilya pulled on the door. She felt it budge but couldn’t open it. Gazlowe cast thunderwave which propelled himself forward ten feet, breaking the grapple and landing on the pile of coins. He noticed that the coins didn’t’ feel right. Ajani heard the boom and just covered his ears. Isabella paced for six seconds and worked up a rage. She screamed and ripped the door open. Abrash (the spider) rushed into the room and critically bit the Mimic severely wounding it.

Amilya ran in next to Gurthen. Gurthen finished off the mimic with a smite. As the Mimic died and fell off the door it revealed a portal to the ethereal plane. The portal sucked in both Gurthen and Amilya and then the portal vanished. Gazlowe screamed out in anguish as he realized all the gold in the room was fake.

What’s next?:

• Find a way to the Clockwork Queen’s penthouse suite and press the red button to stop the building from moving and open the emergency exits so Brynlee can rescue her fiancée Xander.