Krix
Krix
Krix is a human arcane warrior covered in extensive copper dragonscale tattoos. His hair is greying but he is young. He is a veteran of several mercenary groups. He has arcane powers focused on acid elemental damage and defense. Krix is not from the Detroit region and has a thick accent. He speaks fluent Draconic and appears to revere copper dragons in particular.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Krix is a well-built, muscular human man.
Body Features
Krix is mostly covered, face to feet, in extensive, fine quality, realistic copper and verdegris dragonscale tattoos. He typically wears armor with dragon scale designs if possible.
Facial Features
Krix has hazel eyes, a misleadingly sleepy default facial expression, and a ragged laceration scar across his right cheek and across his nose. His forehead and cheeks are covered in a pattern of copper dragonscale. He often has short peppered hair and a short beard, or his head is completely shaven. Both ears are pierced.
Identifying Characteristics
Krix is easily identified by his facial scars and tattoos.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Norixious Krix was born into the Norixious Dragonborn clan in 503 and is of an ancient copper dragon bloodline.
He was trained in the fighting arts and joined the Norixious militia. With a better than average intelligence, he attracted the attention of the clan wizard, and was prepared for additional training in the arcane arts. Prior to beginning dedicated training, however, he was killed in battle.
Unwilling to lose a promising apprentice, the clan leaders had Krix reincarnated; he came back as a human.
He remained with the Norixious militia until he had satisfied his life debt, training as an eldritch knight. Deeply unhappy with his reincarnated form, and painfully aware of the loss of his clan status, he was eager to leave the clan militia as soon as he was released from duty.
He has served in two other mercenary groups: the Steel Hand and the Red Griffins.
He was killed in battle again in 526, with severe facial injuries. He was revivified, but a large facial scar over his right cheek and nose will always remain.
Gender Identity
Krix identifies as male.
Sexuality
Krix is currently asexual because humans are gross.
Education
Krix was trained by the Norixious Dragonborn clan as a fighter. He was trained by Norixious Hezzaka in the arcane arts. Since he left the clan, he has trained with experts in various mercenary companies, including Swordmaster Riventide Aleen of the Steel Hand, and Arcanist Galadan Fearnaught of the Red Griffins.
Employment
Krix is currently tagging along with the adventuring group Hergatz & Heroes. He worked most recently with the Steel Hand mercenary company.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Krix was awarded the Crimson Tear after losing his life in battle while in the Norixious militia. Since he also lost his clan status when he was no longer a dragonborn, this is meaningless. He still keeps the small crimson teardrop badge tucked deep in a pouch.
Failures & Embarrassments
Being reincarnated as a human was an overwhelmingly painful embarrassment for Krix. He lost his clan status. His own family considered him "killed in battle" and never acknowledged him again. He loathes his small, soft, weak human body.
Mental Trauma
Krix considers himself a dragonborn trapped in a disgusting, despicable human body. He has severe body dysmorphia which he has tried to alleviate by covering himself in tattos that resemble the scales he had as a dragonborn. His despises having hair and almost never goes for more than 3-4 weeks without shaving his entire head. His abandonment and rejection from his family and clan left him with trust issues that have been somewhat ameliorated by the friends he made as a mercenary.
Intellectual Characteristics
Krix is fairly intelligent for a man of the military arts. He likes to read, given the chance, with a special interest in military history and the art of war. He enjoys playing dragonchess.
Morality & Philosophy
This is not what Krix expected out of his life, not at all, but he vows to make the best of it by fighting for causes he believes in. He is opposed to tyranny in all forms and believes in individual freedom and the right for individuals to pursue their own destiny. He believes that blindly following authority is a sure path to allowing tyranny to triumph. He has a good heart and good intentions, but is also occasionally at odds with what humans think is proper compared to what he as a dragonborn thinks is proper.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Krix is determined to make the best of the life he has, even though he is not at all satisfied with who he is. He would like nothing better to regain his old form, but knows that is likely impossible. In the meantime, he wants to leave the world a better place for having had him in it.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Krix has friends that are still members of the mercenary groups The Steel Hand and The Red Griffins.
Family Ties
Krix has no family ties, having been utterly disowned by his family. They consider him to be dead.
Religious Views
Krix thinks the gods are cruel jokers.
Social Aptitude
Krix generally has a friendly demeanor and open, affable attitude that serves him well in social settings. He is able to get along with diverse types of people. Because of his own self-loathing, he will often fade to the background in social situations if he can.
Mannerisms
Krix is bothered by the existance of his hair and beard and will absently rub and scratch at them.
Hobbies & Pets
Krix likes to play dragonchess and read books on military history.
Speech
Krix has a strong accent of someone from The Confederation of Irtheankis.
Krix is a human fighter with arcane powers of acid damage and magical defense.
Character Location
Alignment
Chaotic good
Age
24
Date of Birth
16 Amesh 503
Birthplace
Drembush, The Confederation of Irtheankis
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Hazel
Hair
Pepper or shaved bald
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Sienna
Height
6'2"
Weight
200#
Quotes & Catchphrases
"I vill go first. You people are all too sqvishy."
Journal entry 5.2023.11.26
527.12.1
1 Uvork 527
Darien is in a water elemental and drowning. Vectis goes down as he absorbs wounds from Darien. Ferzith casts healing word and brings him back up. Hergatz shoots the elemental with scorching ray and destroys it. I help Darien up and pound some water out of his lungs. We advance to the next room. Another water elemental attacks, no surprise. It engulfs Hergatz but is quickly slain. We continue to advance. There is ongoing animated and highly opinionated discussion about details of the murder rug incident. We continue through the rooms and corridors, encountered air or water elementals. During a fight with an air elemental, All The Light Touches gave me a magic rapier which landed a critical attack the first time. So now I wield a rapier. A bit like a toothpick, but so far it is better than anything else as far hitting monsters made of air goes, I guess. We discovered acid could damage the painted runes in the floor (perhaps the trigger for the elemental-summoning traps). But then it lit me up like a bonfire. So we tried to cast it at the next rune, damaged it, I got burned, the trap still sprang an air elemental. Stabbing an air elemental from the inside worked surprisingly well. Ferzith then insulted it to death. We then realized, thanks to marking the walls, that we are in an infinite loop of trapped rooms. Investigation of the magic and the walls commenced. We found a secret door in one of the stairs. We decided what our single file marching order would be, and headed down into a corridor below. We hear chains rattling and the moaning of prisoners. Are we still on the 5th level? Are we just lost now?
Journal entry 4.2023.11.19
527.12.1
1 Uvork 527
Vectis, Grasshopper, and I are in a small room with a killer, fireball-tossing ballista. Grasshopper wisely flees. Vectis is able to do more damage than I with my useless non-magical sword. The ballista shot at me, missing once, and would have hit me the second time, almost point blank, if I hadn’t been able to deflect it with a shield spell. We followed Grasshopper’s example, fled the room, and shut the door. Everyone else continued to move on to open more doors. They do not seem to fear multiple fronts of attack at once. I advanced to the door in the south of the skeleton room and entered. Darien followed and looked at a crate, and was enveloped by a vampiric mist. Darien is protected by Warding Bond by Vectis and Protection from good and evil by Krix; the mist moves to Krix. It is resistant to necrotic damage, acid, and maybe lightning. Darien turns undead and the mist flees the room. Bolide and Ping Pong advance and start searching crates. In another room, Grasshopper finds a large bear skin rug and freaks out, flings a dart at it, and runs away. It seems Grasshopper has some previous rug-related trauma. Or it really is a murder rug. Several start to deal damage to the rug. The ballista seems to be trying to come through the door; Hergatz and Dalden go to spike the door shut, I helped.
Vectis advances from the mist room to the next room and an air elemental (?) appears, banging him into a wall. Rilitar goes to help. Ping Pong and Bolide use ranged attacks from the mist room. Darien advances into that room. Hergatz and Dalden leave the spiked door and leave the room at my advice; Dalden fled and then slammed the door in my face. I went to the next door instead, trying to get in to help those with the air elemental.
The air elemental disappeared. The murder rug is still, not moving, if it ever did. There is a locked garage type door, the only way out of this area, apparently. The door leads to a series of corridors heading south, each with a lever, cultist symbols, and a fire trap, repeating. We advance in stages then get suspicious it is a loop. Darien advances to Vectis to investigate, and a water elemental attacked, grappling and injuring them both. Attacks on the elemental were met with varying success. Rilitar ran up and pulled Vectis out, badly injured. I ran up and handed Vectis a healing potion. Darien is trapped inside the water elemental, drowning.
Journal entry 3.2023.11.12
527.11.25
25 Hurog 527
The party advanced to the 4th level, passing by a phalanx of non-hostile hobgoblins. An ettin the party had met before and left alive was found, hacked to death, several days dead. A cove that had contained a fungus grove and alchemist with lab has been ruined, and the alchemist is gone. We advanced to the river, and on the beach they discover ~60 (40 adult, 20 children) dead fish people who have also been hacked and killed with fire spells. They find graffiti “DEMON HUNTERS RULE!” in charcoal-like substance. We recognize them as a talented adventuring group (Brock says they are at the top of the leader board). Looting ensues, along with some attempts to treat the bodies with respect.
We make it to level 5, using water walk on the river. We got to the area of the pixies they have met before, and use the name of their leader (Wyllow the Druid). After some fumbling, we are reminded of her name, use it, get laughed at by pixies, and make it through. We find a safe room to camp in for a long rest; an elk named Adorz is summoned by Rilitar. In the morning (1 Uvork) we woke to find the infestation of pixies has played annoying pranks on us. Wyllow the pixie queen is depressed, and her followers unhappy as a result. The reason for her sadness is unclear (apparently because no one listened to her?), something about a husband who is no longer there. She has a displacer beast companion named after someone else she knew (loved?).
We encountered a group of hostile fire newts, and Rilitar parleys. Rilitar and I offer ourselves as unarmed hostages while the party crosses their territory. Success. We encounter a portcullis. In the room beyond, we find locked doors and an invisible imp. They determined on their last trip here that locked doors in this room are only unlocked by the touch of an imp. Rilitar tried to grab the invisible imp to make it unlock doors – hilarity ensued, because wrestling with an imp is something like wrestling with a rabid squirrel. J’aboc helped once Rilitar got badly injured. A voice said, “Oh, just let them in,” the imp placed it hands on the last door, and then it vanished. We proceeded, entering a room with skeletons, a minotaur skeleton, and an imp or two. We finished them all off, then poked at a loot chest, which spawned another skeleton. Ping Pong peeked into the next door after unlocking it, and found a dragon-head ballista, which tossed a fireball into the room, hitting almost everyone. Our fearless leader Hergatz fell unconscious. Many were badly injured. I deftly dodged then absorbed the fire elemental damage. Grasshopper went into the small room to attack the ballista and Vectis and I followed. I fruitlessly whacked it with my silver longsword, and then found myself standing right in front of a magical ballista, probably doomed.
Who said, 'Oh, let them in already?'
Journal entry 2.2023.11.05
527.11.25
25 Hurog 527
We have advanced to the third level of Halastar’s Dungeon. We passed a pair of barriers into a large cavern with many buildings in it. They have been here before too and were worried about hostile drow elves. There were thick spider webs on the walls and ground. The ceiling was covered in darkness when we entered, but someone from within a building sent a flare into the webbing that also was covering the roof of the cavern. Who knew giant spider webbing was so flammable? Now I know. The ceiling went up in flames, and began dropping flaming debris including the dead bodies of burned giant spiders. The rest of the webbing also caught on fire. We began to run through the area, meaning to get to the far side so we could continue to advance to the 5th level, but then we started finding the pit traps – with spikes at the bottom, of course. We got some arrows fired at us through arrow slits in the buildings around us – but no one came out to directly engage us in battle, the cowards. Between the fire, the pit traps, the inability of some of these squishy people to jump across pit traps properly, and random arrows, we were all injured by the time we escaped out to the other side. Darien, one of the clerics, said a prayer of healing for us which helped quite a bit. Onward.
Journal entry 1.2023.10.29
527.11.25
25? Hurog 527
Halt Strongheart had no more mercenary work for me, but I’ve managed to join a group of adventurers that are heading into Halastar’s Dungeon to rescue a little girl named Susan Smith. They tell me she is to be sacrificed in 5 days (5 Uvork) by Glasya cultists trying to summon a demon, or something. Sounds dangerous. I’m in.
It’s a large and diverse group. I should fit in without issue. They include:
Their leader, Hergatz Gumplefrump, a dwarven cleric of light;
All The Light Touches, a tabaxi rogue;
Bolide SmokeShadow, a fairy warlock;
Clive Standish, a human wizard, and his giant tortoise Onslow;
Dalden Renkarr, a dwarven fighter loyal to Hergatz;
Darien, a human cleric of the grave domain;
Ferzith Cortellian, a human bard;
Grasshopper, a high elf monk;
J’aboc Dilvacko, a human barbarian;
Ping Pong, a half-elf rogue;
Rilitar Scintillia, a satyr paladin;
Ryker Durune, a dwarven cleric;
Vectis Xi, a warforged artificer, and his mechanical dog Cardo.
We need to get to the fifth level, where they believe the cultists have imprisoned Susan. They have been here before and know their way, to some extent. We made our way through the first and second levels without much issue – the place is infested with goblinoids but this group seems to have made a pact with them and we were able to pass peacefully. Peacefully until we ran into a large floating eyeball with four tentacled eyeballs, and I got blasted with some sort of very painful, harmful ray from one of the tentacle eyes. It hurt. A lot. We were able to bring down the eye thing (spectator, I think they called it), but we had also attracted hostilities from goblins and hobgoblins in the next room. They lined up very nicely for a bit of Caustic Brew which was satisfying. The others finished everything off swiftly.
I have decided many of these adventurers are a bit squishy and need someone tough in front to protect them. That is what I am here for, I guess.
We progressed through the dungeon, avoiding a pair of large ballista-things at the end of a long hall. The group is intent on getting to the 5th level as quickly as possible. We are leaving many potential dangers unaddressed behind us.
Journal Entry 16.2024.3.17
25 Stiirs 528
25 (?) Stiirs 528
Halaster's Dungeon
Ferzith, Grasshopper, Darien, Vectis, J'aboc, Hergatz, Clive, Bolide, Ping Pong, and me (and Onslow, and Cardo, and Tetchli, and Tecpilcoatl)
We are still in a fight in the cavern lake with the mind worm aboleth and all its minions. Hergatz's control water spell was just dispelled and he can't cast it again. The aboleth sends us a message promising to take away the elf (Ping Pong, who is charmed) unless we retreat. I urge we save Ping Pong. Bolide and others cannot stop fighting. We defeat many of the minions while the aboleth charms Ping Pong closer with Grasshopper in pursuit. GH says he only hit the aboleth a couple times and it poofed away into nothingness. Ping Pong was released from charm. We defeated the remaining minions. The other adventuring party on the island left as quickly as they could. We start to explore the large cavern and J’aboc finds a smaller cave through an underwater opening. They go to examine it, and Hergatz is engulfed by a ceiling rug. They all try heroically to free him, but he becomes gravely injured, going unconscious twice. The ceiling rug (cloaker) has a psychic shriek which scares some of us. Darien heals Hergatz. Hergatz is taken to the entrance tunnel by Cardo and Onslow to rest while I stand guard; the others advance into the small cave. They find a lobstrosity and defeat it. There is a lot of junk in the small cave as well as a wand of secrets. We thoroughly check the large cave and find no aboleth, no other caves, no secret doors. We retreat to the old alchemists place to get some much needed rest. Ferzith puts up a tiny hut to rest in. We get a good night’s rest, discussing where we might find an aberration of sufficient rarity and challenge to fulfill Riker’s needs for his magical ore.
Journal Entry 15.2024.3.10
25 Stiirs 528
25 (?) Stiirs 528
We went to find some aberration blood for Riker to make some specialty ore with, looking for a mind worm the others had found previously. We found the pool, with an island in the middle, where there was another adventuring party warning us off of ‘treasure’, which clearly was not, meaning they were under the influence of the worm. J'aboc approached, which they took as an attack, one of them cut him, he shoved them, then Ferzith stepped in to try and calm things down. Then things (several things – lobstrosities, gibbering mouthers, other things) started attacking out of the water after Darien went looking for the worm using his spells. J'aboc went under water to fight; I stayed up top with water walking because once I go under I’m not coming back up, wearing plate armor. Herzag split the water and removed most of it using control water, but one of the controlled minions or other creatures in the pool dispelled it. Chaos.
Journal Entry 14.2024.3.3
23 Stiirs 528
Date: 23ish Stiirs 528
Dalden has been kidnapped by the Masked Priest, who demands we bring Susan Smith and the brass ship’s bell to him in Halastar’s dungeon in exchange. We have Tecpilcoatl polymorph into SS and make a bell replica and head out. We tried to destroy the real bell but it returned to us.
We find Dalden in the clutches of some lobster people, clawed undead monsters, spectators, and toothed ankle biters. The lobster people grappled J'aboc, Grasshopper, and I and dragged us under water. After a fierce battle in which we nearly lost Bolide, we prevailed. Two spectators and a couple undead fled and did not return. As the others searched the buildings in the area, two goblins approached and handed over a note from Cerebracious Dick (?) who is a beholder that regards Hergatz & Co. as its minions? The note tells us to go take over the leadership of Skullport and make it our own. We fed and watered the goblins, but blithely ignored the message.
Dalden’s dream: I dreamt many strange things, and my mind still recoils in horror at the recollection. One thing I can recount, I saw twins born to an elf woman. The boy and girl were treasured by their family and grew up quickly in my dream. I saw the boy gain stature and wisdom and his people saw a great hope in him. The girl was always in her brother’s shadow and over the years, something twisted inside her. It was revealed to the wise, that the twins were harbringers of something, a great change. It seemed the two were linked, or could be linked to realms beyond the mortal realm. Then the dream travels too fast for my mind to follow, there is a ritual or cataclysm or choosing, something my mind cannot fully grasp. After this, a clear picture emerges in my dream, one twin standing tall surrounded by a nimbus of pale light crowned as one of the mighty in the Fey-wild, and the other shrouded my a dark miasma ruling from a place of dread and despair in the Shadowfell. At this point in the dream my mind is shocked by a similarity between the twins and Susan Smith, something in their fates are related.
Journal Entry 13: 2024.2.18
Cufeb 527 to Stiirs 528: Winter in Detroit
I missed out on some things that happened in the dungeon, including the attack on the temple of Lolth and rescue of Herbert Ward – or at least they got his body. We returned through the dungeon back to Detroit. I helped deliver Herbert’s body, and made sure he got raised from the dead. Galadan was satisfied enough to agree to train me again, and finally taught me the new spell I’ve been waiting for – Dragon’s Breath. Fun, oh so much fun. Feels good.
We spent a couple weeks training, shopping, and such. Riventide seemed a bit annoyed that I’m more excited about my new spells rather than fighting. Spent a lot more time reading than warrior training, which only annoyed her more. Told her that based on the guys I was adventuring with now, I needed to be smarter. She conceded.
Flush with money and tired of sleeping in Ryker’s mom’s basement, we (Me, Darien, Ping Pong, All The Light Touches, and Grasshopper, 3000 gp each) bought a tower and had it renovated. It has two floors and a basement, ramps for Onslow to get around, a hot tub, a sound-proof music room (for bagpipes and snoring dwarves), and a portal to somewhere in the basement idk?
Winter fell, and we stopped adventuring for the time being. All the religious types had ecclesiastical duties and were busy. I spent some time with Tokar and Kerius, told them everything that had been going on. Tokar says he’s confident the Steel Hand has beaten back the Grants for now. He also said he had talked to Arthur Dale and he said, essentially, ‘don’t worry about it, it’s under control.’ Good enough, nmp.
Ferzith’s mentor wanted him to check on a friend of his, Ulvira Snowveins, last known to be in Skullport. He arranged passage with a smuggler they had saved before I knew them. Ferzith, Grasshopper, Ping Pong, ATLT, and I went to Skullport. We found Ulvira – she was running a pet store called The Feathered Rat. She told us the Grants have pretty much taken over the town. The flaming ‘skull lords’ that float about the town used to police ‘the code’ but since the Grants showed up the skull lords now act senile. Ferzith promises to get Ulvira teleported back to Detroit; she has been trapped there for 5 years and is eager to gtfo.
J’aboc sees a grey gnome, yells "GREY GNOME" and chases; it disappears. A passing dwarf offers him a certificate of proof that grey gnomes exist. He buys it for an exorbitant amount of money. At a noodle shop he overhears a couple people talking about Kroth, a name he knows (another valaraukar), and yells "KROTH" at them; they say they saw him, something about him getting spell components or something, I dunno.
Grasshopper sees a Noldar elf bearing a large sword. Build and face resemble Grasshopper’s. GH loses sight of him before he can approach and talk. He gets a name from a shop owner – some cult outside of town.
We pay Tass at The Poisoned Quill for passage back to Detroit via teleport (50gp each, I pay for Jaboc since he spent all his money on the certificate).
We pay our dues to the Adventurers Guild for 528 (14 gp).
Winter passes.
15 Stiirs 528
We get a message from Halastar to ‘Contestants’ about The Masked Priest being on level 2. We proceed. We find a large area filled with cultists (Darien sez they are ‘Masters of Lore’) and angry commoners, probably controlled but still attacking. We attack. I get to try out my new spell and breathe acid on the cultists. It works great. Ferzith suggests to the cultists they tell us where The Masked Priest is and one points to the northwest. Clive gets to throw in a BF fireball. Grasshopper finishes off the commoners. Clive gets another fireball. Hilarity ensues. We finish off the cultists. A couple fang-faced assassin types and a gaunt skull-faced long-tongued weirdo were left and we finished them off.
Much more here to explore and probably kill. No sign of The Masked Priest yet.
Journal Entry 12.2024.1.21
17 Cufeb 527
17 Cufeb 527 - The Heroes are inside the Mad Mage's Dungeon, preparing to face the Drow on level 3.
Darien awakens Ferzith and Hergatz. We advance, leaving the cavern of wind behind. We enter a room with a pentagram in the floor, covered by entrails and arcane writing written in blood. ATLT hears screaming behind a door. We find a drow man strapped to a waterboard and a drow woman controlling it. Ryker entered first and was attacked by the woman, who I then killed. Ryker released the drow man and before we could interrogate him, he fell on my sword and died. We continued through the rooms, while I brought up the rear, so I missed some combat but they killed everything quickly. There were some prisoners in cells. [Geldax Breer (NG male half-elf commoner) occupies the easternmost cell. He is a Detroit lamplighter abducted several nights ago by the drow (and doomed to become a sacrifice to Lolth unless he escapes). A hobgoblin [Lurash] was in the next, then the body of a grell, then murderous drow in the next three.]
Grasshopper and Hergatz moved ahead and found a giant spider in a room with a triply-locked very secure door; GH quickly killed the spider as I ran up to help. Darien found a wood elf [Marta Moonshadow] locked in a side room and freed her. Others started freeing the other prisoners, unfortunately three are drow and attacked, poisoning and knocking out J’aboc. Ryker restored him. Vestis killed that drow. We rescued Lurrash and Geldax, Marta went south to ‘explore’, and we left the drow in their cells. Then Clive burned the webs in the two rooms, revealing only smaller spiders but no giant ones. Marta informed us that behind the triply-locked door was the temple of Lolth, with High Priestess of Lolth: T’rissa Auvrynda, where they are raising giant spiders, and we suspect they are holding Herbert West.
Journal Entry 11.2024.1.14
527.14.17
17 Cufeb 527
[ The Heroes are on the Upper Sargaurth River, less than two days hike from Skullport. You have just met Ding Dong, who has led his forces to defeat the Sahuagin who had been camped in this spot on the river.]
We talked with Ding Dong and the Grants (they did, anyway). Ding Dong was leading this expedition and has been promoted. We left them and proceeded on our way. We debated going to Skullport, avoiding the island, going through town to the teleportation circle, or going back to Detroit through the dungeon, which is what we settled on. After all, the dungeon is dangerous, but the thugs in Skullport might take our money, and we need to get our fortunes to safety. We went along the river and ran into a ‘deserted’ fort, found 4 drow, killed them. (Thinking of the drow settlement we were heading too, I also set a new personal goal of killing 100 drow. One must have goals in life.) That night, something with a bird-like (demon-like?) footprint disturbed Clive’s alarm spell, but we weren’t able to catch what it was. It even eluded Tecpilcoatl.
We reached the landing heading to the drow settlement, debated how to get Onslow across pits, discovered the first pit was widened and deepened, and headed back to check out a different way, further up river, thinking we could circumvent the drow settlement on our way through the dungeon. They tell me there is a temple ahead that they haven’t explored, which sounds like where they might hold captive Herbert Ward, Galadan’s nephew. Something something:
If Skullport’s where ye wish to be,
Against the Sargauth’s flow go ye.
If pirate booty is what ye crave,
Fight the surge to the captain’s grave
We headed northish along the tunnel, against a surging pandemonious wind. We found a dryder, tormented by the winds, and attacked. After Ferzith used counterspell twice to prevent dryder magical shenanigans, we killed it and advanced. The winds grew as we proceeded, until we reached a cave where the winds were unbearable for some (i.e., Hergatz, who fainted). J’aboc decided to attack the obvious cause of the surging winds, the fluttering webs. We tried to pass through the cave to the other side. Bolide tried to set the webs on fire but the winds were too fierce. I picked up Hergatz and delivered him to the other side of the cave into the next tunnel. Dalden took this opportunity to draw a dick on Hergatz’s forehead. Ferzith, trying to help J’aboc, fell to the winds and J’aboc dragged him out. We all made it to the other side, without either Hergatz or Ferzith awakening. J’aboc still has a score to settle with the webs. No one seems concerned about the lure of pirate booty. Clive reports there is a large empty room ahead. Perhaps we are getting close to the temple of Lolth.
Journal entry 10.2024.1.7
23 Eco 527
23 Eco?
We’re fighting a dragon turtle, “Carl”. Everyone that went down in the steam breath attack becomes conscious one way or another. The coatl is very helpful. Darien destroys two of the zombies; the third is well nigh invulnerable and lasts far too long. Grasshopper finally kills it. We use fireballs (don’t work as well), lightning (work better than fire), and everything else we can throw at Carl, with various party members bouncing in and out of consciousness. Dalden in particular has several naps and has delightful dreams of paradise. The turtle goes under water. Hergatz casts control water to create a trench in the river, removing the water. We finish the turtle with some spirit guardians from Darien. There is a tremendous amount of treasure at the bottom of the river.
[56000 gp, 28000 pp, six 2500 gp art objects: a fine porcelain vase adorned with gold and a unicorn in relief (2500 gp), a lacquered wooden scepter set with diamond (2500 gp), a petrified serpent engraved with a labyrinth (2500 gp), a silk brocade merchant's cap trimmed with ermine (2500 gp), an electrum censer set with jacinth (2500 gp), an electrum torc inlaid with ornate orichalcum scrollwork (2500 gp),A +1 maul (Loghain’s maul) and a jasper chicken (figurine of wondrous power) that can turn into a giant chicken. ]
Two kuo toa approach, claiming ATLT as their new god. We prod them for information. They are new disciples of ATLT and follow him.
We meet a woman Betty and two men Lud and Brack at an upriver camp site with a large box. They are headed to Skullport, hailing from the City of Tombs (Shadowfell, along the Sea of Tears). Ferzith talks with them in Undercommon. She claims to be fleeing dhampyr hunters from the Court of Varleth. When questioned about the Rain trade, she said the Rain traders are not nice people. [Rain produced from Lucian Moss from the Shadowfell]. We do not discover what was in the box.
We reach the waterfalls and climb up in stages, which takes two days. We reach the top and enter the Red Fens of the Shadowfell. It appears to be a river delta region, with water falling into the sinkhole leading to the waterfalls. Flying party members scout the area and observe sea to the east, forest to the north, a city to the south along the coast (presumed the City of Tombs), and high rocks to the west. We discuss our next plan of action, intending to disrupt or end the drug trade route. We abandon the Shadowfell, which reeked of swamp gases and despair. [Despair effects will cause exhaustion.] We travel back to the river, back to the sahuagin fort.
We hear bangs, which Vectis informs us sounds like musket fire. At the sahuagin fort, we find a lot of Grants along with Ding Dong, following a fight where they killed all the sahuagin. Ding Dong and the Grants are glad to see us, since we cleared the river of the dragon turtle. I would like to kill them all. The others want to talk.
Journal entry 9.2023.12.30
17 Eco 527
17th of Eco year 527 (I may be losing track because we are underground)
We spent some quality time in Detroit, training, gathering new equipment, collecting rumors, and spending a lot of money. My contacts in the Steel Hand are confident they are beating out the criminal Grant family. After 39 days faffing around Detroit, we got a package containing Ding Dong's nuts (confirmed with identify) and a note pleading with us to help him out before he also got exsplenerated.
Trying to figure out what to do next and trying to figure out how to get to Skullport (to help Ding Dong). Touch bases with Steel Hand and they would like us to just kill everyone on Skull Island, screw their (and Ding Dong’s) quest to kill the monsters in the river.
We run into a strangely average human while discussing and they also want to join us (Kathy) (Aran), saying they also have a mission down here.
We enter Halaster’s dungeon through the Hole-In-The-Floor and head to level 2. We run into another adventuring group on the way in. We head to the goblin market. Everyone has been murdered (by the group we just passed). We head to level 3. We clear rubble through the hall before the drow town. We are fired at but escape through the town, avoiding the deeper, spiked, trapped, poisoned pit traps. We reach the Sargraurth river and with water walk we head upstream. We note but do not explore caves we see on the way up.
After about half a day we run into a fort on the side of the river. Coatl cannot detect specific thoughts but can tell there are still people there. We avoid it and continue along. Eventually we decided to camp for the night. Aran saw ‘something’ in the night, humanoids, 3, unidentified, they left once spotted.
18 Eco 527
We continued after a long rest. Mid-morning, we spotted a boat wreck. Searched, NSF. We reached Skull Island and ‘sneaked’ by (loudly). We got to the Upper river and camped for the night, using Ferzith’s Tiny Hut, night watchers and stinky dwarves encouraged to be outside the hut. On Aran’s watch again, they see a strange grey creature with a garotte. They try to track it and it seems to have disappeared.
19 Eco 527
We find two wrecked canoes today and that’s all. We camp again. We see another strange creature at night but it disappears as Vectis casts faerie fire at it.
20 Eco
We see a ruined tower. A figure steps out holding a white branch, a sahuagin. They insist on a trial by combat with our champion. Aran is eager because they hate sahuagin. A skinny malnourished sahuagin is presented, and they get one good hit on Aran, then gets blenderized by Aran. We camp. During the 4th watch, ATLT sees a group of a couple dozen drow cross the river south of us. We do nothing
21 Eco
Midday – rises out of the water is a disgusting statue of Fraz-urb'luu. Five human bodies are ruined upon the altar. We attempt to deface the statue. Later we camp. We see some duergar during the 4th watch, also avoiding us. We talk to them in common, they respond in undercommon and leave.
22 Eco
More wrecked canoes, with a chest containing a package of 1 pound of ‘Rain’, a cheap drug. Hergatz collected it. We make camp. No visitors noticed that night.
23 Eco
Encounter a corpse of a hydra washed downstream. And a swarm of stirges. The stirges suck some of our blood. The hydra head is gone. The body has been chomped by something large. I collect some scales. Aran claims ‘Carl’ is ahead and waits for us – it is a dragon turtle! We advance. We encounter a strong smell of death and find a muddy shore with some mushrooms and a large plant which turns out to be a corpse flower, spreading a cloud of poison. We attack. We kill it. It spawns a bunch of zombies. We start killing them. Carl, the dragon turtle, appears and breathes steam over almost all of us. Several go down including Clive, Onslow, Darien, Ryker, Dalden, and Cardo. Grasshopper (who ran across the water) and Aran (who stayed out on the water in the middle) melee the dragon. Coatl was up, healed Darien, and Darien healed Clive and Ferzith.
Journal Entry 8.2023.12.23
527.12.1
1 Uvork 527.
There are 2 bearded devils at the entrance with glaives, crossbowmen facing us, and a crowd of chanting cultists around the corner. Clive casts a fireball into the room, killing all the crossbowmen. Gyrah casts moonbeam on one of the devils. Darien starts spirit guardians but cannot advance. Grasshopper runs into the room, finds a barrier between Ammalia and us, and casts some kind of fear which affects a few cultists. J’aboc advances and attacks, and gets hit and gets a bleeding wound, which is healed by Darien’s coatl. Hergatz starts spirit guardians and advances to affect the devils. The bearded devils are killed. A summoning circle on the south of the room spawns a portal. We advance into the room. The barrier is a wall of arcane force. Grasshopper crosses to the other side and 3 human berzerker barbarians come out of a door and surround him, hurting him a lot. Out of another door across the room comes a devil (‘Sar Chasm’) and a little girl (‘Susan Smith’). Darien and Hergatz cross the room to encompass the barbarians in spirit guardians. J’aboc, Dalden, and I dash to the devil and little girl. Sar tries to protect her as she goes toward the portal but J’aboc grabs and grapples her so she can’t, and moves away from the portal. Grasshopper goes down under the berzerkers. Clive does something to Ammalia that incapacitates her. Oh wait, not her, a cultist, she is unaffected. Sar disappears. Tecpilcoatl convinces Susan that they are trying to protect her and she becomes compliant. Clive sleeps all the cultists. J’aboc has his mind changed for him and takes Susan through the portal; I fail to grab her. We kill the last of the berzerkers. Darien reads thoughts through Tecpil and finds that Susan is being sent to the swamp level of the dungeon, heading the group towards a show down with her ex-husband. In port we choose to go to Skullport rather than the swamp. Susan is with us.
Skullport: Death skulls in a market square warn us against weapons and ‘uncivil tongues’. There is a not-quite-a-dwarf selling slaves; we buy all five (a water genasi, a dwarf, a goblin, and a couple humans in bad shape) and bring them with us to The Flagon and Dragon to get some food, drink, and rest. Darien gives coin and asks questions of beggars. All The Light Touches shows silver and attracts more beggars. I assure the slaves that we are going to get some food, drink, rest, and will then discuss their fate. The Flagon and Dragon’s owner is Kalal, a half elf Atlantean woman.
[The Flagon and Dragon serves a decent stew of gumpfish and ripplebark, with bluebread on the side for 1gp. They also have Goat’s Head Ale, which Cal’al brews herself, (4sp/ tankard) and Amberjack, a fine whiskey from Gyudd’s Distillery (8sp/glass). Sleep in common room 1 sp/person /night.]
Unhappy with the prospect of staying in a common room, we go to The Guts and Garters for a private room (3 available at 5 silver/night). The owner is a tiefling named Quietude who speaks softly. He charges 2 sp / tankard of ale called Wyrmwizz (which is terrible and the name is apt).
We eat at the Flagon and Dragon. Although Bolide sees some Grant family thugs, who are apparently the group’s enemies, we stay at the Guts and Garters. We get a long rest. Phew.
In the morning we are confronted by Allegra, a dwarf with a magnificent beard, who demands the ‘tourist tax’ of 5 dragons (gp) each. Quietude and the G&G staff seem quite wary of him. Services provided for the tax are a lack of dismemberment and death. We pay the tax and inquire about how to get out of Skullport and back to Detroit. He blathers about ships and stuff and sounds evasive; I don't know I stopped listening.
According to a mildly bribed Quietude, rumors allege Tass Veldarn at the Poisoned Quill can transport people magically to Detroit.
We ask the slaves we bought what they would like to do. Two of the slaves (dwarf and water genasi) were ambushed and enslaved when entering Skullport, looking for their lost captain. They have no more reason to stay in town and would go with us. The goblin just wants to get out of town. Rubbish and Junk, the two humans, have no initiative and will do what we say. So everyone wants to go to Detroit, and we head to The Poisoned Quill.
We run into Ping Pong's brother Ding Dong who takes us back to the G&G and tries to talk us into a job for him (clear out some monsters in the trade route between the fens and the Skullport). We just want to get Susan back to Detroit. He is annoyingly persistent.
Tass Veldarn at The Poisoned Quill is an elderly grey haired human woman. She puts on tea and asks us what we want. J’aboc shouts “TAKE US TO DETROIT”. We have a choice of teleportation circles in Detroit – an orphanage on the docks or The Ruined Tower. The Tower might be taken over by the Grant family – not good. She sends us along to the orphanage at the cost of 50gp each. We take Susan to the temple and alert her parents. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. We also took the ex-slaves to the temple of healing and sent them off with some cash from All The Light Touches.
J’aboc and I go looking for a fight. Time to get some training in.
Journal entry 7.2023.12.10
527.12.1
1 Uvork 527
With the pulling of the lever, flying infernal creatures come out to attack. We try to run around the room pulling the rest of the levers. With each pull more creatures come out. Ja’boc goes down shortly after an amazing leaping attack on one of the creatures. Grasshopper and Ping Pong get to the last of the levers and we finish off the last of the creatures. Darien stabilizes Ja’boc. The doors are now able to be opened.
We take a short break so that Darien can do a Prayer of Healing. Then we clean up: I recover spent silvered bolts, some check on the doors, some check on the fountain that hurts, some release prisoners. They retrieve a box from the acid fountain.
We enter a room with a roulette wheel and 3 coin slots. I try it first with three coins. I move faster (35’ until next long rest), lose all my hit die – and then fall unconscious. Darien heals me. Not serving as the bad example I hoped, others try their luck. Ferzith also falls unconscious; Darien heals him and is out of spell slots (after divine recovery used). Other notable wins include a +1 dex to Ping Pong and a pet couatl to Darien. Ping Pong now smells delicious to monsters. Then we disable the ballista with mage hand and a torch, getting to a chest containing some art items. Then J’aboc decides to take a greatsword from the treasure pile by the stone golem. It’s +1 and cursed, called Skarpur. J’aboc comes close to taking it then refuses; Darien wants someone to take it so I’ll pick it up and take it but have no intention of attuning to it. J’aboc hands a lyre to Ferzith who accepts it (Lyre of Daghán Ó Dubhuir). We finally leave the room with the stone golem. We move down a hall and encounter a guard devil and attack, quickly defeating it.
We then enter a large room with a bunch of cultists and an evil person everyone else seems to recognize. (Ammalia Cantalever?)
Pretty sure we're fucked.
Journal entry 6.2023.12.03
527.12.1
1 Uvork 527.
Looks like we have entered a prison. First cell: thin human man with zero fucks left ‘Borin Cleves’. Second cell: Thin human woman who is not Susan. Alys Bladewalker 38 year old entertainer tightrope walker, long wavy grey hair shaved on both sides, brown eyes, angular face, complicated piercings on her forehead and recent over left eyebrow. From Detroit, speaks in common. Says she is here due to the Cult of Glasya. Large central multi-terraced room with smaller rooms on the sides, many small and large pillars, stairs between terraces suspiciously like the earlier hidden stairs. Humanoid ugly (infernal?) creatures in smaller rooms, surrounded by clouds of biting flies. Large 'stone golem' in center of room with piles of treasure; it only turns to stare at whoever is nearest. We make very short work of creatures (6) in southern rooms, mostly Ja’boc and I. More in eastern rooms (4?), we killed them. Third prisoner in a cell: naked injured githyanki. ATLT heals it. Ferzith mocks it. Cell with two dead humans chained to wall. Dalden finds a room with torture implements.
Grasshopper found and we explore: A room with a large ballista and a chest. A room with a glowing roulette table?? A room with a suspiciously innocent comfy chair. These are all behind locked bars; we have looked but not entered. In a room with a fountain filled with acrid clear fluid, Ferzith spots a tile with potential hiding hole at bottom. I touch liquid to see if it is safe *ITISNOT* my hand melted. It hurt very much. Ferzith magicked the acid off. There are bloodstains and Infernal runes; Ferzith says they are the usual Infernal cultist BS. Hergatz, Dalden, Ferzith, ATLT and I are in smaller SE rooms.
Meanwhile, the others are in the large central terraced room. Vectis has been examining a portcullis that appears to be operated by some mechanism. There are levers on the walls and two levers flanking the stone golem. Grasshopper pulls one by the portcullis; clanking noises. J’aboc enters the room, sees the Thing To Do now is pull levers, and runs down and pulls one of the levers next to the stone golem, screaming of his triumphant victory.
I start swearing.
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