BB Day Trip: Peer Pressure

Military: Battle

Myska's Menagerie's tightrope walk balancing the line between factions is ripped out from under them as decisive action is forced.

When morning came for the party back at the airship, even the final work outside did not rouse them until the final leg of the work was well under way. In time, the trio would see that the old, gruff, crossbow hoisting stable manager Woodward was out with the watchers. He inquired about the midnight meeting and where the hostages were. Astrid informed the man that they were still working on it but the revelation that Astrid was not the person they wanted did slow the solution. While unpleasant, Woodward could not do more than accept the answer. Whatever happened, the town had to accept whatever answer was given.
  The smallest pressure from town though was enough to make the party fully realize that the reality of the situation was closing in on them. Myska's Menagerie were centered in between three factions now and they had to pick a side. Astrid had vocally picked one... but was it the right one? Should they double-cross Virtuosa? They needed more information.
  Millie offered up his last resources for a Legend Lore to help the party find their foothold forward. He knew a bit about Ilmater but not a lot. From their own admission, the drow openly stated that what they wanted Virtuosa for was Ilmater-related information. That would be the play. Incense lit and guided pondering brought forth, Millie learned:
Legend Lore: Ilmater
The current god Ilmater is an Aspect of Vistul. Temples of Ilmater are few and far between. Some of his most present sole worshipers are represented by the radical Sorrow Monks. They believe that there is only so much misery in the world and by seeking out sorrow for themselves, others will be subjected to less. The only major temple to Ilmater in the Storm Broken Lands was constructed three thousand years ago upon the banks east of the Immreth Mountains. The Temple was built at a time when fiendish incursions were common as a means to ease the suffering of mortals. The temple was lost with the Forgotten Shore and mostly forgotten by the time of the Fields of Ichor at the end of the Age of Heroism.
  Given the information, Millie and Astrid felt like they had a good idea on why the drow wanted Virtuosa. From what Millie knew, tieflings were common around the Forgotten Shore. Virtuosa was likely connected to the area and to the Sorrow Monks.
  While Astrid and Millie were dealing with all of that, Chupta was turning his attention outward. The man was maintaining periodic contact with Merrygild. The gnome didn't know much at all as to what was going on but Chupta wanted to be sure any knew revelations would be learned of (where movements, conversations, or otherwise. He also got in contact with Crush to coordinate the tortle's return. Chupta then also wrote the first draft of a letter that he would be Speedy Courier-ing back to New Derth in the future.
  In time, the airship balloon was finished and rigged up, Crush return to take a snooze, and the companions left Billowbluff once more. The flight to the Oasis was far faster than the ride, cutting the time in half at the very least. Despite the late morning finish on the airship, the group still managed to arrive over the oasis around peak of day. They would land the airship on the northern banks above the Oasis.
  Upon arriving to area, Millie sent a Sending out to Virtuosa: “Innocents not able to be retrieved yet. We otherwise found out about your likely connection to the Sorrow Monks. Please meet us to talk.”
A moment later, the gnome received Virtuosa's response. It came in an investigative tone that shifted to determined at the end: “I'm not part of Sorrow Monks. You hear this from drow? They're likely among them. That'd explain why they know much. We'll be there momentarily.”
  Not long after the message was sent, the companions witnessed a section of rock down in the gully open up. A geometric whole simply appeared in the ground and and band of drow began to rise out from it. The arcanist of the group closed the physical portal behind them. Conversation between Astrid and Brigantala was brief once it was known that Virtuosa's would be on her way.
  The drow came aboard the vessel and began to position themselves for arrival. Astrid pointed out the section that Virtuosa had appeared in the last time she had teleported in and the drow accommodated. Two skilled warriors took the main deck while an ambusher moved to the fore deck elevation. The mage went to the aft to begin the process of readying the underdark twist on a private sanctum effect. At the close of completion, they held it back to release once Virtuosa arrived. Brigantala and and the priestess from the negotiations then boarded the vessel and waited.
  Chupta would found a place to go invisible , hover above mid deck a bit. He simply didn't want his feet on a surface should something go wrong. Put herself between the predicted landing zone and her relations while Crush positioned between the elven warriors. Millie went into the back cabin to take at least one person off the deck. The gnome didn't expect this welcoming party to be taken rather well. They were definitely burning a bridge based. The drow had said yesterday what they wanted and by golly they were fully prepared to take Virtuosa whether she wanted to talk or not.
  As time drug on, the wait for Virtuosa grew heavier. Chupta continued to channel more of his energy to maintain flight. The drow arcanist held in locked position, sweat beading down the face as they focused on their spell. A half hour would pass after the point that the drow had arrived, almost 45 minutes since the sending, when the flash of light announced Virtuosa's arrival. Virtuosa... and a host of her followers.
  Fully utilizing the teleportation effect, she brought along her council containing the orc war chief, the goliath, and the gnoll hunter. Along with them were a hobgoblin dressed like Virtuosa, an orc warrior, a goblin with a nozzles firearm, and two half-dwarves: a male armed-and-armored bearing knives and a hardy female with mining equipment. It seemed that Virtuosa had gathered an entire party to help save the innocents. As they appeared on deck, seeing the drow all around mixed with the Menagerie, and the sun being blocked out by the growing shadow about the ship, calls of betrayal erupted from the band. Everything turned to chaos.
  As arms started to be drawn by Virtuosa's Band, the drow did not wait for civil negotiations. The deckside drow warriors moved in as the ambusher above dropped the orc warrior with a hand crossbow bolt through the eye. The gnoll charged the ambusher above in a blood rage that infected the orc war chief to lash out. The war chief, hunger sated, took his first moments to rally the troops against the threats. The goliath, the final of the lieutenants, attempted to ignore Astrid for the moment to focus on the drow. While conflict may be coming, the goliath assumed there had been coercion involved and would prioritize drow... that is until Crush conjured a patch of spike growth all through the the front of the ship.
  Virtuosa used the drow's cover of shadows against them to shadow step behind Crush. The betrayal still wracked her brain though and while she attacked the tortle with her kusarigama, she landed no blows. Astrid magically wailed Virtuosa's name to send a psychic lance directly at her. The crystalline face mask glowed brightly absorbing as much of the spell as possible. While it prevented any damage from befalling the woman's mind, the magic wave of Astrid overpowered Virtuosa's mind and caused her to falter. The tiefling tried to continue to fight but stumble and flinched. Astrid looked to her mother telling her, “ You can take her now,” in an offering. During this time, Millie took advantage of the opening to get on top of the woman in melee. With a touch, he bestowed a curse on her to make her stated much longer lasting that a few short seconds. Virtuosa's attempted to fight it off but the drow arcanist joined in to assure the incapacitation.
    Toward the bow of the ship, Chupta retreated to the front of the vessel attempting to fight from safety. The hobgoblin monk followed him through the shadows to lash up at him. The drow assassin eliminated the threat to Chupta before turning back to the angered gnoll. Chupta, appreciating the aid, called down to the drow, “ You've got my back, I've got yours”.
  Brigantala approached the stumbling woman with a three tentacled rod in hand. As the tentacles writhed around the woman, the drow matriarch bade the tiefling to submit. Crush, not far away, looked between Virtuosa, the melee in the center of the ship, and to Chupta's situation. Crush tried heavily considered flooding the deck with an indiscriminate Cone of Cold for both the Scales of Justice and the drow but decided against it. Astrid yelled for him to remove Virtuosa's helm. The tortle struggled to do so quickly as the woman, while incapacitated, still fought on and the helm was not wanting to be be removed. With a desperate, “I don't have thumbs!”, the tortle moved up to help Chupta.
  Back midship, the battle was heavy and cruel. Barry launched arrows into the fray. Millie sent a disintegrating beam into the orc war chief to soften him for killing blades. Drow priest and mage sent bolts of poison and electricity into the fray. The apparatus wielding goblin sent a gout of acid from the nozzle gun. The drow warriors continued to eviscerate enemies. The goliath, who had spared Astrid once before, now turned fully toward her. Despite lashing out with mighty strength, Astrid gave a telekinetic reprisal that sent them stumbling back into the stone throne. The priestess then waded in to tear through the goliath apart with a barbed, flaying lash.
  Seeing Virtuosa not giving up, Astrid warped to her chosen quarry and laid down two mightily smiting blows that dropped the woman to her knees. Astrid looked to her mother, “The rest is for you.” Brigantala then forced the battered and broken tiefling into a temporary but deep sleep. With Astrid now out of the way and the drow repositioning, Chupta took the opportunity to release one of Crush's cone of cold's from Jibrom ring to freeze the deck.
  While the drow finished the mid deck, Crush got to the foredeck to interpose himself between Chupta and the rampaging gnoll. Calling upon his symbiotic fungus, it grew around him in armor as well as something new. Three tendrils with snapping maws grew from his back, mirroring the desert hydra he had been studying. The tentacles lashed out, bit into the gnoll, and drained him of life.
  As the battle drew to a close, business quickly followed. After Astrid had removed the helm while throwing her “sister” a healing word. Brigantala had Virtuosa manacled and taken away. The party never saw when it happened, but by the time the sleep magic had worn off, she was already dosed with drow poison.
  Millie asked Brigantala why they needed Virtuosa in relation to Ilmater. The drow matriarch started by saying that they needed information from her though in time she would elaborate slightly more. Millie Surmised that the drow were going to the temple “For prayer and worship, I believe?” but would be corrected. Brigantala stated that worship was earned. She did not b believe in worshiping gods who had done nothing for you.
  The temple to Ilmater had something that she wished to use to oppose an overpowering force back home. They needed Virtuosa for the same reason a surface dweller would want a drow if they needed to go to a drow city: it's best to have someone who is from there and knows what is going on.
  The drow began the process for heading out. Myska's Menagerie were assured that the hostages would be released the moment the drow were gone. In partying, though, Astrid had press a topic once more. Going to the drow priestess, she whispered, “we are sisters right?” The drow returned a look of severity that basically said I cannot say that out loud. At the very least, Astrid needed her name. “Intana.” Clearly a name based off her mothers.
  Brigantala was the last to leave. She thanked the party in general but things leaned towards Astrid. “You have done well for a people in need. I hope your payment-,” referring to the helm more than the hostages, “is worth all of this.” referring to the dead around her.
While the drow were making their final preparations, Millie retreated below deck.
    When the final drow had dropped through the reopened passwall-effect in the ground, a dwarf and a pink gnomish lad were raised from the darkness. The hole closed magically once again as the Menagerie were left with the hostages. Astrid strode forward quickly to purge the evident toxins from their systems that kept them sluggish and delirious. She also healed Merrygild's wounds and buffered Sheriff Nightmaker's resolve. There would be conversations to be had on the flight back to Billowbluff
  While Astrid was dealing with the citizens, Millie popped out from below deck. Head up first checking to make sure the drow were gone before emerging with a bucket and a rag went to work on the corpses. Lining them up, one by one, he checked their bodies and clean them. He wiped them down and did his best to make sure all of their gear was kept on them. Whatever emotions where going through his head, he had to work now. He had to work fast. As he worked, he noticed strands of Crush's fungus working it's way into the wounds. Peculiar. But that would not stop him. Slowly, each and every lost member of Virtuosa's troop was put under a gentle repose.
  While Millie worked, Astrid began the debriefing of the situation to Sheriff Nightmaker and Merrygild. It may have been a censored version of the events to protect party interests, what was shared was wholly truthful. Astrid showed the sheriff the ransom note and he agreed that it sounded like it was referring to her. Virtuosa's crimes would have to be put on hold as she had been removed by a religious organization. Merrygild showed a brave face to the prospect of drow though was brought into tow soon enough.
  It was only upon beginning to leave that Millie held the party up once more. On a hope, he ventured out not more than 10 minutes from the airship in hopes of divining the presence of nearby diamonds. Luck was not with him as he found none. He would magically carve a large X into the ground, each line 10 ft long and 3 ft wide. Should he search again, the marker would be easily seen from the airship. The gnome returned to the ship for the group to shove off once more.
  The return to Billowbluff was a relatively short journey but one still filled with work. Millie spent it defrosting the final, frozen corpses and finishing his preservation work on them. During this, Chupta came on by to investigate the apparatus that one of the goblins had used to eject acid across the deck. Despite Millie's background in Lacington, he could not immediately put together how the apparatus was designed or any of it's special functions. At most, they knew the basic tank-and-pressure functionality to the devise and the fact that it was not magical. What this told Chupta was that Barry could use it. Chupta would store it in his ring next to the large jar of green slime in hopes of being able to Smuggler's Gambit the “Double Dare” Slime gun into the hench-being's hands.
  Chupta also spent some time double checking through a note he wanted to send to the Continental Times in New Derth before sending it:
Chupta's Letter to Speedy Courier to New Derth
This is Chupta of the Myska Menagerie and I would like to inquire what information you might have come across regarding the whereabouts of SinBad Gilgamesh or any other info that has arisen since last we spoke regarding any members of the menagerie. Please put any and all information into the box for it to be returned. Also, feel free to add a current copy of the paper off the press so we can stay up to date on other matters. We may have another story for you soon but I won’t spoil anything for you until our next visit.
Your Cheerful Chupta Gilgamesh,
The Pleasantly Plump Magic Man of the Purple Sands.
  Chupta would include a gold piece to pay for the paper. After a short time, the speedy courier would return with his 9 silver, 5 copper in change along with two documents. The larger of the two documents would be the day's paper. Two of its largest stories (if not most notable) were:
~ Angel Dust factory raided by Copper Crooks, 15 apprehended
~ Festival clean up still in progress. Reminder to keep Sewer pipes clear of excess solid waste.
  The second document was an old news paper clipping with an article of possible interest to Chupta. Dated, in 1025, the article made mention of his father:
Sinbad Gilgamesh (male, human) was caught by the Copper Crooks in 1025 as a part of a Crossroads Alley sting. He was found in possession of ten vials of a potent restorative potion stolen from it's makers. Despite being taken in, Gilgamesh escaped custody and three of the vials were reported missing. Others taken in that day were Kosik Darkback (male, dwarf), Grarami Bluntaxe (Female, Dwarf), Nabita Dutta (Female Halfling), and Laila Baruwal (Female, Halfling)
Chupta did not recognize any of the other names in the document.
  Upon getting close to Billowbluff, Merrygild's voice surely announced their approach. Having had time to process the occurrences since Astrid cleansed his system, the young man was now a beacon of wonder and excitement at being in the center of some of the heroics of Myska's Menagerie. Millie had the partial gnome get up on the railing before levitating him and pushing the exuberant boy off to float down to the town in his glee.
  The rest of the party, minus Mr. Tengral, would have a slower descent into town as the crowd solidly formed once more. Sheriff Nightmaker was well aware of Astrid's views on the mayor and foresaw problems arising He whispered to Astrid, “You are owed every bit of glory you want. Just don't pick a bigger fight.” Astrid then volleyed back a pleasantry of not wanting a bigger fight but hopping Mayor Ironbasher stayed couped up in his house like always. Upon speaking the name, the party could see the mayor hobbling through town with his cane. A curt “damn” escaped the sheriff's lips.
  The crotchety old dwarf Woodward was the first to herald the party's return. The town itself, while hoping, really had no reason to fully believe the party wouldn't just leave after the repairs were done. Woodward spoke partially in favor of the party while also being either intentionally or unintentionally super racist. He pointed out Crush as the individual that had conjured all of the water. When it was pointed out that it had been Crush's father, the old man waved it away with not being able to tell any of that kind of folk apart. Before that got out of hand, Mayor Ironbasher did speak.
  What followed was a political game of cat and mouse between the mayor, the sheriff, and Myska's Menagerie. While the two dwarves were technically on the same side, Sheriff Nightmaker stood in between the Mayor and Astrid knowing that both sides had valid reasons to suspect or not like the other. The furthest the mayor managed to dig was Myska's Menagerie “making their own hospitality” before he wrangle himself back in under the Sheriff's gaze. A prompted series of cheers were given by the crowd before the sheriff gave a more heartfelt speech.
  Sheriff Nightmaker's speech included the decapitation of the Scales of Justice. This news brought with it the corollary that Billowbluff's blockade would be ending. The town would survive! Amid the celebrations, The party managed to get a moment with sheriff to clear a few things.
  First and foremost, Nightmaker would write up the paper work to confirm the general identities of the slain Scales of Justice members and removal of the leader. While he couldn't pay for all of that, he could ensure that people in New Derth's Casement would. He also assured payment for the retrieval of the supplies from Fowler's Mill equal to what the first leg paid (1000 gp).