Ripper
Session 25 - 27: The Very Long Day
25-27: 999YK
After recovering from my bout of madness we made our way to the inn where we will be staying. Upon our arrival we found out that there was a literal mountain of paperwork that Tarryn would need to do in order for us to pass through this accursed town. Since we would be required to stay in town for a few days we were hired to deal with a local issue. According to one Sergeant Clint the criminal known as Feldspar Merlin caused an explosion in one of the monster districts slaying dozens of individuals. We were tasked with tracking down those responsible for what happened. In fact we would even be payed extra if we determined that Feldspar wasn't the one responsible.
Of course, we also found out that because its believed that foreign agents were responsible for the attack we would be unable to pass through as planned until the matter was resolved. Also, while I had hoped to avoid the illithid in charge of this hellhole it seems that meeting him will be inevitable. As a matter of "protocol" he will be probing our minds for answers to the following questions.
1. Do you know anything about the attack on Little Graywall?
2. Do you intend any actions that will harm Droaam, Graywall, The Daughters of Sora Kell, or The Great Crag?
great, just great. I will need to see if my plans can be carried out in a way that will not bring harm to the factions mentioned. It seems unlikely, but I will have to ponder this. Perhaps a solution will present its self. This was communicated to us during a meeting with one of the illithid's thralls, one Hurda the medusa.
So, then we began to apply our skills (with the assistance of a local) at locating those responsible for what happened. Celosia did a bit of clever divination while Toox spoke with some of the locals. Following the leads we had gathered, the only thing of note is that I was able to lay my hands on a dagger that magically poisons those it wounds. I don't know how useful it will be in combat but it is a curious item that warrants additional study.
We finally determined the time and place where we would gain the most information on those responsible an inn called The Broken Sword. Returning to this place at midnight is apparently the best time. So we retired for the day and entered the place at the appointed time. Inside we discover Feldspar and his elven companion Ninarin. It seems the cunning bard had arranged things to get the local dock workers to be in conflict with a group called the purists. These purists were the ones responsible for the attack. Feldspar requested that we back him up in case his ineffable plan failed.
So, the plan went off with out a hitch and everyone died.... well except that this isn't what happened at all. Instead things went pear shaped pretty quick with both sides attacking feldspar as well as each other. So, we intervened and defended feldspar. Because we were favoring stealth at the time my undead friends were not with us. However, some recruits from Cyre were willing to lend their spirits to the fight, commandeering the bodies of the fallen and using them to fight our enemies. We managed to take some prisoners whom we turned them over to the local authorities. Feldspar was cleared of all charges and we headed back to the inn for some well deserved rest.... or at least that was the plan.
On our way back to the inn our group was attacked as we were crossing the bridge. Unfortunately, Silpheria was on my shoulder when the fireball hit. She didn't stand a chance. In addition to having to deal with two flying wizards, and a horde of armed thugs. There was also a hired wand, one known as Arges. He's a rather renowned wandslinger in Sharn. I knew my activities would likely one day lead to a confrontation involving him, or someone like him. But this is kind of ridiculous my plans are still seeds that have not even grown yet, much less have they born fruit. Thankfully, our group was skilled enough to slay both wizards and force Arges into retreat.
Over all the fight went in our favor. A most curious exchange occurred during this fight though. A man in a dark hood slayed one of our adversaries. Then in desperation one of the enemies attempted to hold the man hostage. Anyone willing to risk their life for my wellbeing deserves to be saved if I have the ability to do so. So, I struck the enemy down before he could cause harm to the man. The curious part happened later. It seems that an intimate relationship of some sort exists between the man and feldspar as the two exchanged an embrace and a kiss. It's quite enlightening to learn that Feldspar prefers males. I suppose this explains why his relationship with Ninarin seems to be so professional. It also makes me believe that the stories I hear about Fledspar seducing women are just that, stories.
It's probably also worth noting that Simon and Tarryn showed up at the end with the wagon. Their entrance would have been a welcome sight, had it occurred sooner. Unfortunately, by the time they showed up we pretty much had everything under control. It seems that the inn were my plants were staying came under attack and I appreciate that Simon went to such lengths to keep them safe, as well as my undead companions. He even brought me an additional plant as a gift. While he can be eccentric at times I hope that I'm able to continue to work with Simon. I'm not sure how he would feel about my plans but he only needs to know what he needs to know. I feel that I can trust him about as well as Toox, Celosia, and Ice. While I wouldn't trust my life to his combat skills, like a shrew he has proven he can be dangerous when cornered.
Once again we managed to take one of the ruffians hostage. It fell upon me to keep our hostage in the wagon where he would be unlikely to escape. It was at this point that the illithid himself showed up.
Now, it's worth noting that since learning about the meeting with the illthid I had considered different approaches and the one I had settled upon was to see if there was some way the illthid could become a patron. Stories say that he was trapped in some sort of stasis device. My plan does involve the preservation of life until it can be used to repopulate. Additionally, the cost of my research has been costly, having a patron could alleviate some of this cost, though I will probably have to make some sort of deal that involves not killing the illthid or his thralls. But that's a problem I can deal with later. Cleanse the world first, deal with the remnants afterward.
Anyway, I bring this up because what happened next was amazing. Xor'chylic, the illithid declared that the wagon and all of it's contents to be property of Droaam. In essence he is now my owner and IS my patron now, or at least he's set a precedent of being open to such an arrangement. At this point everyone is brought back to the inn which is a blaze. Xor'chylic ordered that no one leave. I did what I could using spells in order to keep people from fleeing the scene until the city guards were able to property secure everything. Then, very methodically, Xor'chylic probed each person there in order to determine their involvement. The innocent were released while the guilty faced immediate execution or worse. It... it was absolutely glorious. It never occurred to me that this was the way he operated and it makes SOOO much sense. I was giddy with excitement as he moved from person to person. This one was innocent, but the next one, maybe they're guilty?
I was wrong about this place. Xor'chylic already culls this place. Removing evil that has taken root and preserving the good. While the aesthetics of this place awaken something unpleasant inside of me, it's undeniable that this place is like a tiny sliver of what I hope to accomplish worldwide. I'm looking forward to meeting such a great individual as Xor'chylic. I don't know if he will approve of what I have planned, but as with Simon he only needs to know what he needs to know. I can explain to him that I only seek harm to those who are irredeemably evil. I wish no harm upon Xor'chylic, his town or his allies. Instead I want to work with him to preserve that which is good, while rooting out that which is evil and of course it would be helpful if he would help fund my research.
Oh yes, Tarryn. I might understand what Celosia sees in him. He asked if I needed anything and graciously agreed to bring me the materials I needed to re-summon Sil'pheria. Once re-summoned, I sent her off to stay with Tarryn and Celosia in case they needed anything or I needed to alert them to the status of our wagon or the prisoner. I look forward to seeing what Xor'chylic does with the prisoner. Maybe I'll get to see another execution. It's unfortunate I likely won't get to watch Xor'chylic feast upon his brain. I've heard stories that it's a thing Xor'chylic's race does but I've not yet seen it. It sounds fascinating.
The night seems to have passed fairly uneventfully, though Celosia did shoo Sil'pheria out of the room so she could mate with Tarryn. I understand such things are quite intimate and so I understand not wishing to have spectators to such a thing, so I promptly dismissed Sil'pheria to maintain privacy.
Session 24: Shifted Priorities
24: 999YK
So, after slaying the Wyvern my companions and I had a short discussion about what should be done with the beast. It occurred to me that the degenerate beast might still serve some use. In the notes that we found there was an indication that this creature was the wizard's familiar. This information goes completely against my own experience with how familiar's work but I'm not so arrogant as to believe I know everything there is to know about magic. It seems entirely plausible that a familiar like bond existed between the wizard and this... thing. Anyway, such a bond would mean that if the elves are able to ressurrect the wizard then there may be an additional reward to be gained if we could also return his pet.
Unfortunately, my companions raised concerns about how long it would take to bring the body back to camp. Also, even if we were able to do so how we would transport it. Since the beast was a pet, simply returning it's head (in the way that hunters typically do) would likely yield negative consequences. So, I laid a preservative spell upon the body and we buried it with the help of the nearby fauna and an unseen servant (trees do make excellent diggers after all). We have this location noted on a map and so if the wizard wished to return here to retrieve the body they would be able to do so.
Thankfully, my companions were much more reasonable when it came to the corpse of the elf. The safest and easiest way to transport the body was to place it inside of an empty bag of holding. We then returned the same way we came. I do wish the floating disk spell lasted longer than it does, the breaks every hour are mildly annoying.
Simon Twoorb isn't such a bad person once you get to know him. We were concerned that he wouldn't respond well to us showing up with the corpse in a bag of holding and so the eleven corpse was lain upon an additional floating disk before we entered the camp. Once we returned he took me aside and confided in me that the only way he could think of to safely transport the body was to place it inside of a bag of holding. It's nice to see him display such wisdom and intelligence. I agreed and offered to place a masking spell upon the bag so that it would not appear to be invisible. We then agreed that if anyone asked where the body was, we would claim it was hidden in a secret compartment within the wagon.
After a short journey we made it to a small village just outside of graywall. We stopped in the town in order to avoid drawing attention to ourselves and took a small respite. I checked with the local guard to ascertain if any known dangers existed along the road from this village to graywall. I learned of a troll and some thugs that were attacking travelers. Thankfully, the path they were assaulting people on was different than the one we planned to take to graywall. While I mourn the loss of coin that might of been made, the reward did not seem worth the risk. I don't know a lot about trolls, but I do recall they don't typically like sunlight or fire. Unfortunately, my ability to conjure sunlight and fire is extremely limited, even if we did take time to rest and arm ourselves properly. Toox wanted to slay the creature (and I don't blame here, I wouldn't mind a bit of bloodshed myself). But Celosia seemed surprisingly unconcerned about the situation. Either she wants to get home badly, or she has more confidence in the local guard than I do. I didn't question her reasoning since I'm glad to follow any path that promotes my own safety.
I did discover an interesting little shrine / museum. That seemed to be dedicated to an Ogrub the ogre. It seems the creature saved a village from a dam in an act of self sacrifice. It's interesting to me that such nobility could be instilled via magic within a rough form. I would perfer to extinguish such brutish creatures, and if an artifact exists that could instill goodness in others this may make my task so much easier. If I could find or replicate the artifact and use it on others, I would be able to focus on genetics alone and not concern myself with making sure I only save the good. This warrants additional research.
I also discovered a fantastic tale where Ice was spotted fleeing an elven princess along with his "not kidnapper" kobold friends, in the middle of the night through the town (as I said a rotten core some times lies beneath ideal genetics). I would of passed it off as mere coincidence had we not encountered a group of passed out kobolds outside of town on our way toward graywall. On a hunch I questioned the kobold as if the story I heard was not only true, but that I knew far more than I actually did. The ruse paid off and the kobold gave up more information than he might of if I'd tried to directly confirm what had happened.
After some additional travel we encountered a check point on the outskirts of graywall. We are carrying a rare book and a rare corpse inside of a one of a kind magical marvel. While we have nothing to hide per se, it would also be best if the less true information others have on us the better. So, we made up a story about how our passenger was an important dignitary and that inspecting our cart thoroughly would result in more trouble than it was worth. Thanks to Celosia's expertise and some quick thinking on the part of the professor (I have to wonder if was coached by Toox) we were able to get through the check point without further issues.
Then we finally got to graywall. This place needs to be wiped off the map. This place was like someone had looked at Sharn and tried to re-create it in a completely artificial manner. Everything is straight and neat and organized. Some organization is good and even necessary, but this, this is an abomination. My head is pounding with the screams of a hundred souls. This is so much worse than anything I've experience before. The only thing that comes close was the 1st time I arrived in Sharn. I think it's making me hallucinate. I just saw Ice drop out of a portal created by a blue kobold and land on our wagon. This is bad, maybe I need to start prioritizing the cure that will wipe out the plague that is civilization....
SESSION 23
23: 999YK
Queen Mab's winter court beavers and I were able to finish construction of a ballista for the Edhellan. I've gone over the operation of it with my companions. Its been agreed that Corporal Dagger will be on loading duty, Leftenant Gleam is responsible for aiming, which leaves Captain Romanesco to fire it, not that that is surprising. Hopefully, this will help us deal with the dangers we will face on the road.
I've spoken with the sparrows, deer and trout in the surrounding area to see if I could determine where the mad wizard's mount had flown off too. I figure he probably had some valuables on him and it would be a shame if they were simply lost in the wilderness to become decorations for the nest of that overgrown mag pie of a wyvern. The fish weren't very helpful and the deer ended up becoming our night's dinner. That brute Terryn probably spotted it hanging around after my conversation with it. He's lucky I'm a druid of the spore or else there would of been words. I debated telling Terryn her name and letting him know she had been a useful source of information. But, honestly he's been useful and isn't deserving of the barbs of my words. It was close though, he expected me to eat the meal he had prepared. But I don't eat. I figured Sil'pheria would enjoy the experience (though being a fey she doesn't require the sustenance of mortal food) and summoned her to partake. She was surprisingly well behaved, I guess the experience was a true novelty for her.
After dinner, the location of the wyvern was discussed. It turns out that wizard was actually of some renown and recovering his body would be worth quite the reward. The wyvern would have to be killed, but that's not much of a loss. After all, they are basically degenerate dragons. When I wipe out the whole species it will hardly be a loss. A healthy wyvern would normally be quite dangerous. However, there's indications in the journal that this creature has been afflicted with the same mental degeneration that the wizard was. Which should make it easier to kill.
We also discussed the contents of the journal and the theories the wizard was working on. There's some distressing situations that we should probably follow up on. Whatever machinations the devil and demon have wrought, they are likely detrimental to my plans. So, they will need to be dealt with. I kind of hope that the dask are their pawns since we might be "forced" to destroy that group in order to resolve the problem. Though it's possible that these otherworldly forces are acting via a different group that we've not yet had much contact with. In any case, it's something to look into once we get back to Sharn.
It was at dinner that I realized how horribly malnourished Simon was. He had been working non-stop to create a copy of the journal, barely taking sleep and meals. It didn't occur to me until I saw him what kind of toll this was taking on his body. If he ever gets into one of these spurts again I'll be sure to provide him with goodberries and some kind of accelerated rest. There's little reason for his work to suffer over minor inconveniences like sleep and food.
The research is going well. While I am quite interested in what we've found, I'm in no rush to delve it's depths. I think it makes the most sense to let others do all the grunt work and then after they've gleaned as much from it as they can, to review their work in order to find whatever they missed. It's just more efficient that way.
There was some after dinner entertainment where Toox and Celosia decided to test out their bargain bin magic items. A bit too risky an endeavor for me, but I'm more than happy to watch as others experiment with dangerous magic items. Toox ended up with a pretty standard wand of blasting and a bag of holding of sand. I'm not sure how useful an endless supply of sand is, but I suppose if Toox decides to live out her retirement years as a glassblower such an item will be quite helpful. Celosia's ring of mending seems to derive it's power from the wearer's life force. An intriguing item to be sure. Interestingly, she had so little desire to have the thing that she gave it to me. I may have to research it later, being able to fuel spells with life force could be a very useful property to employ with more powerful magics.
The next day I turned into a panther and ferried my companions to the wyvern's lair. We had a slight mishap on the way but overall we made fantastic time. We came upon the wyvern which seemed to be in a state of mourning. This allowed us to pounce on it and kill it before it had a chance to react. Celosia clouded the beast's mind with deadly fears, while I caused it's body to decay and wither. Finally, Toox gave it a killing blow by stabbing her dagger into it's lung and heart.
Unfortunately, the beast had apparently gathered the wizard's things and wrapped its body in some kind of funerary cloth. The body already had a gentle repose spell upon it so, it may be a property of the cloth. Just to be safe I went ahead and cast gentle repose on the body. I would unwrap the wizard's body and remove whatever valuables he's wearing, if I thought I could do so without consequences. Unfortunately, those who would reward us for returning the body would probably be less generous if they thought we had defiled his body in some way. Being in the good graces with these elves could prove to be the most valuable reward of all. So, I'll make sure the body is protected and treated with respect until it can be passed along to the elves.
Now, we just have to figure out how best to transport everything back to the wagon.....
SESSION 22
22: 999YK
As had been discussed the previous evening in the carriage house the group met today in order to regroup and strategize. Celosia (our spy master) seemed re-invigorated and took charge. We split up the work as was best suited to our skills. Getting the wagon repaired and making modifications to it while others gathered reconnaissance with regard to our upcoming journey.
I used my gifts to gather materials for our efforts. I found some sturdy saplings and used my magic to make them flourish. I then called in a host of fey creatures to help cut and extract what we needed.
When I returned Toox had some good news. She had found the home of the wizard that attacked us and whom we'd subsequently killed.
I had the girls gather up on my floating disk and then I shifted into a black bear so that we could make the journey though the woods un-harassed and quickly. The wizard's home was run down and laden with magical protections. Thankfully, Toox was able to apply her expertise at breaking into places and we were able to navigate all of the magical dangers.
Unfortunately, the wizard had one final trap, which we didn't see until it was sprung. We found ourselves transported to a metal box with steam holes in it. The three of us however, were able to break the wizard's trap and escape.
The wizard's home was in severe disarray and we are still going over his notes and belongings. It seems he was involved with the cult we broke up a few months ago. Perhaps this is the real reason he re-acted so aggressively toward us.
SESSION 21.5
21.5: 999YK
I witnessed a private moment between two members of our traveling group. Namely our spy master and our driver. It was enlightening to see her (the spy master) without her emotional mask. I knew she was an empath but didn't realize that she experiences mental strain like I do.
So many voices with their own emotions and desires all at once.
It's good to see she has found a way to stabilize her emotions. While it'd be tempting to ask if she's getting her needed daily passionate kisses, something tells me she wouldn't respond well to such a comment. I don't think she realizes that I see and hear everything my familiar does, much less that my familiar was even in the room.
Though, to be fair I take great pains to make my friends seem more autonomous than they are.
Session 21: Notes and Offroading
21: 999YK
The morning started off well enough. Our friend Ice let us know that he had definitely not been kidnapped and we collected his things from his room for safe keeping until we meet back up in Sharn.
We stopped by a food stand so the flesh bags could get sustenance. While we were their Toox had a run in with her young friends again and they had really pissed her off this time. I located where the pigeon they had shot had come from and talked with the other pigeons. I informed them that the young students hide bird seed in their collars. I wish I could see the chaos that's sure to follow.
We finally got back on the road and left the town.
*sigh*
This trip has reminded me why I hate being in towns. The constant pained cries from Romanesco and the others is always worse in places like that. Now that we've left their screaming has dropped to a mere grumble. It's so pleasant.
Then we encountered "the thing". I can't say if it was a pit fiend or not but I felt the aura of dread that is know to accompany such creatures. The evil in this place will likely need to be destroyed. But only once I'm ready to tackle such a terrible creature. I don't know if the reckoning will kill such a beast and the last thing I want are things like this taking over once civilization has crumbled to dust. I guess even after everyone's dead, I'll need to scour the world of such threats before I can begin the re-seeding. In any case I've marked this location for additional future research.
Then we encountered the crossroads. There was an obvious bandit sign re-directing travelers to take a detour around a portion of the main road. We of course were not to be deceived by such an obvious ruse and continued along the main road. Unfortunately, other dangers lurked upon the path. We were beset upon by a mad wizard that was astride a tamed wyvern. He conjured storms of wind and ice in our path. It was so frightful that our driver went mad as well and Celosia was forced to take control of the carriage. She did her best but ultimately lost control of the vehicle. The rest of us tried to fend off the wizard with arrows. Thankfully, Toox is a crack shot with a bow and was able to put him down with a few volleys.
We were able to right the wagon and make repairs to before it.....exploded??!!
This trip just keeps getting worse and worse. I'm staring to wonder if house Orien isn't trying to assassinate Terryn (our driver) by sending him on this trip and we are merely acceptable collateral damage.
I think it's starting to sink in to everyone just how expendable house Orien sees us. As a warforged I'm used to people just treating me as a thing. I get the impression however that others in my group are not used to such attitudes. For example, I saw Celosia break down in tears after being unable to sleep. So, she indulged in a bit of light research in order to collect her thoughts and regain her composure.
But, it makes little sense to abandon our commission at this point. We've made it this far, we should do what we can to finish it while not dying in the process. But I think any further work with house Orien will need to be taken under serious consideration as their jobs seem to invite danger.
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