GB Chapter 41: Picking up the Pieces

General Summary

Outline

Admin

• Leveled up to 15 (Fork is a bard now)
• Necropolis
• MB has access to new Blauri Aura spells, samples detailed in GB Chapter 40: The End Games

The Sesh

• After processing what just happened, the Gaiobros decide to leave the stadium. They buy 4,500 gp of steroids & 750 gp of hallucinogendrugs from a goblin dealer (the guy charged a 1.3 exchange rate for accepting gold)
• MB returns to Volugard's Bounty and spends 3,000 gp on the Iron Flask. MB also kept the sex-related items, free of charge. Meanwhile, the other bros amp up their 4 remaining Reigndeer so that they can fly the Sleigh & the Bonemobile (2 reigndeer each).
• The gang converges on the Temple of Rebirth, where they finagle past some surprisingly lenient Death Knight guards as "invited guests". They leave the reigndeer outside with the carriage & sleigh, supposedly taking all of their belongings with them. As such, Balcazar, Draconius, Master Obu, Fork, MB, Stonius & the twins walk into the Temple of Rebirth.
• They wander through the halls of the temple, which resemble an ancient ruin with religious murals & iconography depicting the Shadow King, Lady Gaelica & Zalcophet the Frost Pharaoh (previous member of the Shadow Triad) fighting various battles for Necropolis & Cyrofel (during The Tundra Wars ). They see various mummies with armor & glaives standing guard, unmoving as the gang walks past.
• They get to an archway blocked off by two mummies in shadowy veils/robes, and a third figure in the center; Sister Glaecia, wearing the same outfit as the mummies. After a somewhat heated conversation, Glaecia reveals how much she resents the group for ruining Christmas and corrupting her holy magic, demonstrating with a cracked jingle bell as her Spiritual Weapon. They banter back and forth until Obu demands to see the Shadow King and threatens her, which causes all the mummy guards behind them to draw their weapons and surround the group. Surprisingly, Sister Glaecia allows them to pass, but does not aid them further.
• Master Obu reaches out to the Shadow King, but gets a somewhat dismissive response followed by silence. The gang finds a chamber with a door and two hallways. The center has an image of the Shadow King above it, the left hall has an image of Lady Gaelica above it, and the right hall has an image of Zalcophet above it. The gang goes to the right hall.
• They find a doorway blocked by a Mummy Priest, who they persuade to let them into the room for 10 minutes. The room is a study of sorts for Zalcophet the Frost Pharaoh, so the gang naturally combs through as much knowledge as they can.

Lore from Zalcophet's Mini Study

• MB - Blauri spell list & spells with Daidrin crossover; can pick one non-Blauri Daidrin spell of their choice from the Daidrin spell list and permanently add it to their spells prepared (doesn’t count against total, acts like an Oath spell). MB also finds reports of the legendary battle of Phallicus as he attempted to penetrate Necropolis, the City of Second Chances. He was defeated by Lady Gaelica, but Sevuctus bound his soul to his own blade upon his dying breath to keep the horniness alive.
• Balcazar - Learns about Daidrin spells that crossover with the Garonis Gaioforce, giving him ideas of spells he can learn. He can also add one Daidrin spell of his choice to his spells known (doesn’t count against his total).
• Draconius - a map of Zalcovia & the Temple of Rebirth. The map details how the Temple is connected to Zalcovia through a thin black line (possibly a teleportation tube) & references a Heart Chamber deep within Zalcovia.
• Fork - learns that Zalcophet seems to hate bards, seeing music as an inferior way of accessing magic. He also learns about Bozer, the Dwarven God of Alcohol that occasionally passes through Necropolis to drink the exotic alcohol in the taverns, annoying both Zalcophet & the Shadow King. Fork might have found something else, but the DM wrote this almost two weeks later and forgot (he is open for suggestions from Sam on what else he found)
• Master Obu - finds a historical document detailing the Battle of the Last Wyrm (300-400 years ago), fought between Necropolis & Gorofax (the Winter’s End) and his army of Frost Drakes, Frost Wyverns, Frost Dragonborn, Young & Adult Frost Dragons residing in Cyregnor. This was one of the largest and most impactful battles of Necropolis’ history, as it took the combined efforts of Lady Gaelica, Zalcophet, the Necropolis Guard & nearly the entire Roving Shadows army to defend the city. Eventually, all of the Dragonborn & most of the dragons were killed, with Gorofax, some adult dragons & few young dragons escaping. This battle made dragons (true or otherwise) a rare species in Cyregnor and gave Necropolis most of the dragon corpses in their current possession. The appearance of Gorofax, the oldest living Legendary Frost Dragon, gave the Shadow King ideas for future arcane experiments and ambitions (possibly with a divine end goal). Master Obu might have found something else, but the DM wrote this almost two weeks later and forgot (he is open for suggestions from Chase on what else he found)
• The group learned about Zalcophet’s background, his attempts to usurp the Shadow King, the origins of the Initiate Program, the command structure/purpose of the Shadow Triad & Necropolis, history of the Shadow Triad’s formation/living days, and the Shadow King’s nature as a shadow lich and his limitations (cannot move his full self farther than 200 ft from his phylactery, which is the Daidrin Gaiostone. Outside of this range, he can project shadow copies of himself across the Daidrin leylines; these projections are more powerful in Necropolis & Zalcovia than they are outside the North Pole).
• Once their 10 minutes are up, the mummy priest kicks them out of the study. Also, the gang has either named themselves the Baker's Dozen or Baked Goods (can't remember which), like a band name.

Background stuff in Necropolis

• People & bar patrons will be talking about Darkjaw being declared a fugitive of Necropolis and that a manhunt is underway. They will disseminate rumors that Dr. Plaezuis was sent on the manhunt as a disposal method, while his mysterious new replacement is leading the strike team.
• Count Volugard will have installed security bubbles around all of his products, which will drain 4d8 necrotic damage worth of blood from anyone other than Volugard.
• Argatha will hint at her fuck buddyship with Count Volugard, as well as mention that he is a senior member of the Morien Council.

The Sesh

Opening/body

• After processing what just happened, the Gaiobros decide to leave the stadium Buys 4,500 gp of steroids & 750 gp of hallucinogendrugs from a goblin dealer (for simplicity, Daidcoin & gp exchange rate is 1 for this transaction)
• Draconius finds a map2

Report Date

02 Aug 2023