Session 14 – The Lost City – Doppelgangers, Ogres, and Conmen
General Summary
Trapped in the hallway with a pair of Cynidiceans named Sina and Nabilu, who betrayed them and tossed Feebs into a room with a pair of Ogres, Sylbella and Gunkyn immediately jump into action knowing that they need to deal with these two as quickly as possible in order to save Feebs.
The two prove to be more formidable than expected based on their appearances. Gunkyn is badly hurt in the fight, but they prevail and as the two betrayers die, their true form is revealed to be Doppelgangers – clearly having taken the place of two real Cynidiceans.
After dealing with the Doppelgangers, Gunkyn opens the door to the room revealing the Ogres still breaking into the food containers and stuffing their faces. Gunkyn immediately casts the spell Nathair’s Michief which manifests itself at first in the form of the smell of apple pie, which causes the Ogres to become charmed. This allows Sylbella to question them about the Doppelgangers asking them if they knew Sina and Nabilu. But the Ogres here the names as cinnamon and Nutella and so they start talking about food and the lovely smell of apple pie.
While the Ogres are distracted with food, Sylbella is able to scan the room and spot Feebs hiding under the counter in the corner and signals him to use the Ogres distraction to get out of the room, which he does quickly.
Unfortunately, Nathair’s Michief is a fickle spell and after a few moments it randomly changes from the smell of apple pie to bouquets of flowers that spray water in the Ogre’s faces. One of them is blinded but the other is not and becomes quickly enraged.
The three heroes make a run for it and thankfully the Ogres choose not to pursue and instead they hear the door slam shut from down the hall.
They use the opportunity to go back and search the Doppelganger’s bodies where they find several gems worth a tidy sum as well as their Cynidicean masks. Unfortunately, they find nothing else of use or value in the room where they met Sina and Nabilu except maybe for the three beds the room contains.
Continuing from there, they discover an enormous room that is clearly some kind of chapel or church. It contains pews, a pair of water fountains and a raised dais with statues of the three gods worshipped here – although they have all been toppled.
They also meet a brother and sister, both with red hair and wearing fox masks. They claim their names are Jack and Jill and that they are there to restore the temple and are seeking donations.
It doesn’t take long to figure out that they’re lying though and really just trying to con them. Once Gunkyn calls them out for their lies, the two immediately back pedal as they clearly aren’t prepared to fight.
Sylbella begins questioning them about what they know and the two claim to actually be from Xanathar City, across the desert and like the heroes found the ruins of Cynidecea and the pyramid after being trapped in a sandstorm. They also claim that they were accompanied by tow hobgoblins, but one was killed by a crossbow bolt trap entering the pyramid – the other they were separated from and so they do not know if he still lives or not.
The two definitely know about the three factions at odds with one another as well as the traveling bands of goblins that serve Zargon and warns that the Zargonites seek people to literally feed to their god who allegedly is a foul creature that lives beneath the city.
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