Session 3: Traveling to the Cogs
General Summary
- As you all collapsed into the streets of Sharn, several people were surrounding the body of the woman who had been held hostage. Neyries confiscated the purse, while Dooturr grabbed the money inside. While they were looting the body, another snap was heard, and a young-looking male fell to his demise as well.
- The party took cover while Viribus found a ladder, after which the Sharn Watch climbed it and took care of the beasts, during which the third and final hostage was executed - this body noticeably smaller and younger than the others. The Watch took down the party's names, and attempted to apprehend the extremely suspicious N'nchyk, codenamed Fishitor.
- Philip said the trek back to the Loft was quite a distance, and that his house was closer for them to rest. Before setting off to do so, the party rested in the dreaded warehouse, in which Neyries acquired various herbs to re-summon his fallen owl.
- Dooturr took a brief detour, but eventually, the party all met up at Philip's house, where his wife Alice answered the door and did her best to tend to the party's wounds. It seemed such an occurrence was not unusual, except for the fact that there were 6 additional guests.
- The party had a nice chat around the fireplace of Philip's sitting room, where Philip discussed a mission Nayries had with House Tharashk: an anonymous tip about a cold case regarding a poisoned cleric nearly 6 years ago. Philip thought the whole case was strange, as the case dispatcher was not a cruel man and would not wish to simply send Nayries on a wild goose chase.
- Philip proudly presented the party each with a piece of silver origami, and in the middle of the discussion, a very young toddler wandered into the room, who Philip introduced as his grandchild, Arthur. Alice made the party a delicious steak dinner before calling it a night. Each person found their own place to sleep, with Nayries keeping watch over the crying prisoner, Bugby.
Returning to the Loft
- The night passed without incident, and the party steeled themselves in preparation for returning to the Loft. Maleakos disguised Chains as an older lady with a cane, and they allowed Bugby to walk of her own accord as to not attract the attention of a body slung over a shoulder.
- Thanks to their precautions and discretion, the party made it to the Loft without incident. Once there, the firbolg Paven greeted them with a wide smile, and brought them into the now-familiar screening room, where they had a brief discussion with Theobald. They told him what they had encountered thus far, and he seemed delighted that you had found yourself in such a situation.
- Torfe escorted Chains out, and Theobald said that she was being helped out of the country. With so many attempts on her life in Sharn, it seemed clear that it was unsafe for her in the city as a whistleblower.
- The party also let their orc prisoner Bugby go free, and while Theobald did admit the importance of information and wary treatment of the enemy, he also stated that blatant brutalization of a humanoid life is not looked upon favorably in the guild, and that the party should be more temperate in the future. N'nchyk claimed that the Harbingers of Aegis have harmed his friends in the past, such as the one that approached him in Lower Tavick's Landing.
- Theobald seemed troubled by the bodak - which Neyries and N'nchyk had recognized as the remains of an individual who had befouled themself in a ritual to an ancient, nigh-forgotten demon that could see everything the demon could, and whose purpose was to spread death - and said between the bodak and the Droaamic invasion in Sharn, something was amiss in the City of Towers.
- Theobald mentioned how important it was to recover whatever it was the warforged found in the Cogs, and that following this path to its end would almost certainly guarantee their admittance into the guild. And with that, he wished them luck.
Mithral Tower
- The party traveled to the Upper Central Plateau district of Mithral Tower, the richest residential district outside of Clifftop. The streets were littered with Sharn Watch guards and incredibly wealthy-looking citizens, all of which gave N'nchyk and Dooturr disgusted looks as they passed, but said nothing.
- The party chose to send the three most charismatic and most innocuous party members in to speak with Alden. They found a large and well-guarded estate, with large griffon-shaped topiaries and statues, and the whole property shimmered with some kind of magic. Maleakos, Ashpin, and Viribus gained admittance through the claim of being on business for the family.
- They found Alden d'Orien flanked by a tough-looking manservant, who was taking down notes in a rose-colored crystal. Alden was a haggard man in his late 30's, and was very visibly distressed. The party chose the diplomatic route, and when they offered to help his son and called Shiksu a cunt, Alden immediately began to tell them some of what he knew.
- One morning, Alden found his son Caden missing from his bed, with only a note in its place. It gave a time and place, and when he arrived at the designated location, he found an incredibly ornately-dressed woman that called herself Shiksu. She said she needed expendable labor, and guaranteed transportation to move goods. If Alden failed to comply, Shiksu said she would visit horrors on his young son that would make the Dark Six queasy.
- After recounting this, Alden started to sob, and staggered inside his manor. His manservant, who called himself Vishtai, apologized on behalf of his master, but implored the party to understand his position. He apologized that they could not tell the party any more information, and after a long look at Ashpin, he too retreated inside the manor.
- Meanwhile, Dooturr played a lovely tune in the streets and attracted the wealth of even the most snobbish of residents.
- Ashpin said they had all they needed, and told the rest of the party what had transpired. He had heard Vishtai in his head, and gave him specific instructions that would hopefully lead to Caden. Rescuing the young boy would not only put House Orien in the party's debt, but would also remove any leverage Shiksu had over Alden, allowing him to speak more freely.
Descent into the Cogs
- While the party approached a lift on the other side of Upper Central Plateau, Dooturr was constantly scribbling on a bit of parchment, upon which they could see text seep into, and then reappear after a little bit of time. They found the lift: a large 30x30 stone room that claimed to be out of order. In it they found a young-looking couple, which by the dynamic duo of N'nchyk and Maleakos, were shooed out of.
- Dooturr noticed the seams of a secret panel with the head of a medusa engraved upon it, and after much deliberation, the party was able to pry it open with Dooturr's kukri. Inside, they found a jumble of wires connected to an Eberron dragonshard, which Maleakos managed to hotwire, and the lift began to descend.
- Before long, the lift shuddered to a halt, and the doors opened to reveal a tall and lanky humanoid with long black robes and a shriveled black left hand. When he heard of the party going to the dig site with the warforged on behalf of the Clifftop Adventurer's Guild, he grew excited and said he was doing the same. It was too late before the party realized he was shooting an Eldritch Blast at the medusa panel, dismantling several of the wires once again.
- The warlock fought alongside disgusting winged heads, with mottled skin and deformed eyes. It was clear before long that the warlock was incredibly powerful, and was hurling motes of darkness at player after player, and summoning even more demons. However, one well-placed Hold Person on the part of Viribus put a quick end to his life as he could do naught but watch as he was butchered by nearly everyone.
- On his body, Viribus found gold and silver, as well as an Immovable Rod. He also discovered a tattoo of a shield on the left part of his neck, which began to bubble, and eventually exploded, splattering some of the party in brains and chunks of flesh. Maleakos got the lift to work once again, and the party descended into the belly of Sharn with a headless corpse and the remains of two demon heads.
- They traveled through the desolated Cogs, a collection of ramshackle buildings, ancient wooden ruins, and pools of lava along a path that could hardly be called a road. They eventually came across a large industrial-looking door, almost 20 feet tall. There they found a jolly skeleton named Vinnie, who said he was there on behalf of the bossman.
- Through the teamwork of Nayries and Dooturr, the lock to the industrial door was picked, and it swung open to reveal an old room of broken stonework, ancient metal piping, and a metal bridge over a pool of suspicious-seeming water. Two levers opened the door at the opposite end, but also raised the bridge that led across the water. Using their newfound Immovable Rod and the kindness of their new ally Vinnie, they managed to get through the door. Just as it shut, Maleakos heard a distant scream and clattering of bones.
- Once through the door, the party found themselves in the remains of an old camp, with rickety platforms from which gnolls were perched. A war horn was sounded, and a massive amount of globs of disfigured gray flesh began to stumble in through the various pathways that slanted upwards into the stone ruins. Combat ensued, as more and more blobs of flesh began to appear.
Date begun:
2 Zarantyr, 998 YK
Date ended:
3 Zarantyr, 998 YK
Party level:
3
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