Codename: Sleeping Alley, Report the Third
General Summary
We met Alley Sleepers in the turgid silence of danger, trying to figure out their next steps after eliminating Kordel Reg as a threat and blowing the nitre mine in Curragan's Shame right the hell up.
Various conversations were had, but it was generally agreed that it was a good idea to lay low to see what might happen once news of Reg's death & the mine's destruction reached Alerki Ascendency ears.
Thus, it was decided that maybe Leechport is a good place to hide out & see what news might emerge about their latest exploits. The gang decided to head there, staying mostly off the main road. Before departing, Hama got all druid-y & sent an animal messenger blackbird to Yoni Yellowcrane declaring that "no one will remember our faces." Oooh! Cryptic!
On the way to Leechport, our heroes came across a tribe? clan? family? of goblins planting some trees right on the edge of the Shame. Strange, but stranger still is the dwarf seemingly in charge of this operation, a druid named only Hill. After some pleasant, if weird, exchanges, our folks left him & his goblins to their work & went on their way.
A night passed without incident, except for that Svo'Kool felt a deep pang of longing to help some unfortunate loxdon children & left in the middle of the night to do just that.
Closer to Leechport, Hama found himself engaged in conversation with a brilliant blue peacock, who definitely wasn't supposed to be there. But, the peacock was kinda chill about his whole situation, so the gang let him be. But not before he gave Hama one of his bright blue feathers.
Leechport, itself, is not going to greet the Sleepers with open arms, as there was just a ton of The Manifest and Rectifiers all over it. After a tense back and forth, the Ascendancy claimed that Leechport was closed because of "sickness." Quarantined, even. Very odd.
While discussing what to do now, given this latest setback, our champions came across Smallcastle, who appeared at first to be an amiable satyr, but, it turns out, is actually a Brass Lamb operative. Intrigue!
It turns out that Smallcastle is there with an offer and a mission. Yoni got Hama's message & it was decided to see how far the Sleepers were willing to go for the cause. There's an old lighthouse in the Drekhold ruins that needs reclaiming & Smallcastle thinks our gang are just the folk to do it. The mission is simple--drive out whatever is living there (& there is for sure something living there), find a way to repair the lamp in the lighthouse, & report back.
Fixing this lighthouse will be a huge help to the Lamb, as they can start using it to guide their smuggling operations instead of the conveniently closed Leechport. For their troubles, the Sleepers will earn Respect with the Lamb & a lead on a place they might secure as a headquarters of sorts. Solid. Consider them signed up.
On the way to the Drekhold ruins, there was both a shitty bridge & a ettin. The bridge problem was solved with only a few of the Sleepers falling in the truly distrubing waters of Drekhold and this ettin met its end without major fanfare. The Sleepers are fighters, for sure.
The lighthouse itself was pretty well broken, which was just the way the Lamb wanted it. Rieta set up a chair, though, & was rewarded for doing so. The lone occupant of the ruin was a young black dragon named Fizzynith the Creep, who had no intention of leaving. Rather than fight a goddamn dragon, it was decided that perhaps she could be persuaded to leave with the location of a better lair--a former nitre mind, for instance--& Reg's fancy pistol. She agreed to this trade & was off. Great! Now how to fix the lighthouse lamp?
A quick visit to New Drekhold provided the answer there, as the gang wet their whistles in The Warm Axe, where the bartender, Attendant mentioned that perhaps a crafty gnome named Dowyn Whistleshine might be of service.
She was, indeed, of service, as she agreed to fix the lamp. She did, however, warn the Sleepers of the Price they may pay for their deeds. Ominous!
Then it was time to meet back up with Smallcastle, tell him the good news. They did so, & Hama mentioned that a "Lost Cause" is now found, a clever way of saying Dowyn is back working, at least tangentially, with the Lamb. Smallcastle thanked them & gave them a lead on a hideout for them, an old meadery on the Pimeweld. Nice!
Fantastic! Time to celebrate! Except for one thing--Smallcastle also mentioned that, apparently Svo'Kool, on his way to surely help orphaned Loxdon children, has been imprisoned in Leechport. This could compromise operational security so Smallcastle presented to options--either "take care" of Svo'Kool or somehow free him from his confines before the risk to Sleeping Alley, and thus, to the Lamb becomes too great.
Our heroes opted for the latter, so it is prison break time, baby.
We'll see exactly how that goes during our next session.
Rewards Granted
Access to HQ
Missions/Quests Completed
Repaired Drekhold lighthouse
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