Episode 39
General Summary
The Gennes Day festivities continue as the Unlikely Association head to The Greystone Inn to partake in the afternoon's drinking contest.
The run-down tavern maintains it's reputation, serving a very cheap bitter ale to it's competitors. Veda and Leah take their places, and the contest begins. Other competitors include the tavern owner himself, Dag Littlefoot, the investigator Gerry Skipleaf, the potion maker Zook Turen and a smartly dressed lad, which Eva recognises to be Armen Orbeck, wearing a magical disguise.
Atlas and Marty manage to get a few wagers going, convincing many patrons to bet on Leah - with the hopes she will lose. One solitary gnome in the tavern tells Marty to "piss off" as she approaches, seemingly too involved in his drink and his own thoughts to notice anything else.
The contest concludes with Leah somehow taking victory. Veda, who didn't really want to take part anyway, bails out after the 7th or 8th round. Dag, who passed out half-way through, wakes up to give the eladrin her reward - a scraping of coins from the Greystone, and a rather nice dagger with a fire rune.
The group then head over to the palace gardens which have just opened to the public. Eva is pulled aside by a palace attendant, who shows her to the stage where she will be performing. Godric takes a walk with Hope, who is very excited to see the palace once more, and looking forward to seeing her mother during the speech. Leah enjoys the artwork around the grounds, whilst the rest of the group begin scouting for the gnome who holds the magical chain.
As more and more people crowd into the gardens, it seems that their target is not going to show. A hush comes over the crowd, as Valkia Orbeck and Queen Ophelia Orbeck appear on a high balcony. The queen gives her speech, highlighting some difficult times and putting to rest some rumours about the royal family. She also speaks of the recent heroic deeds of The Unlikely Association, to which the crowd responds with cheers and applause. As the queen wraps up her speech, signalling Eva to begin her performance - a scream is heard instead. Followed by a foul odour and more screaming.
The crowd begins to panic and disperse, as large mounds of black goo ooze out of the sewer grates. Nearby Knights of the Shield begin to usher people away from the creatures, as the party engage them in combat. A particularly vicious blow takes Godric by surprise, knocking him to the ground - unconscious. The party do their best to get civilians away, but some are not so lucky - sustaining nasty acid burns and even dying in some cases. Eventually the people of Kureta City are cleared out, and the oozes are defeated - but sounds of further panic and fear echo around the city - it seems this was not an isolated incident.
Not long after the last ooze in the gardens is destroyed, Leah spots Knight Commander Devianne arriving near the palace gates. The commander sends Knights in various directions, before beginning to head into the palace by herself. Godric and Hope rush over to speak with the woman, followed by Leah.
The Knight Commander, who appears to have been fighting these oozes too, orders Godric to stay outside and maintain the grounds. But something isn't right, Hope relays to Godric that the commander "doesn't smell right" and rushes off, leading the group to a secret entrance into the palace...
Rewards Granted
Dagger: Level 2 Fire Rune
Report Date
09 Oct 2020
Primary Location
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