Act II | Chapter I | Cops & Augurs Report
General Summary
Following an eventful night at the end of Act I, Chapter VII, Does he Like Eggs?, the party discussed plans over a breakfast of pancakes. They decided against answering the summons of Captain Yosryn Gimble, and instead elected to pay a visit to Dalius the Augur. Finishing their pancakes, the party got in touch with Tony the Gondola Guy and made their way to the Forum.
With some help from Tony, the party located the Augur's place of business: a simple storefront labeled with a single sign reading "The Perch", about halfway down a narrow and nondescript alleyway. When the party arrived, they found that a line had already formed outside of The Perch. They settled in to wait their turn to see The Augur.
During their wait, members of the party made the following observations:
The party presented Dalius with the Memory of Utek, and asked him to identify it. Dalius called down an owl from the walls above to assist him in identification. He shared with the party that the Memory of Utek is a very powerful magical artifact that contains part of the fractured consciousness of Utek. Utek, also known by the title of Utek the Overmind, was one of the Deep Dreamers, a pantheon of malevolent deep-sea deities that fought against the sentient beings of the oceans in antiquity. In order to defeat Utek, the sentient peoples of the seas had to split his consciousness into hundreds of magical stones, or memories. Dalius explained that if this particular Memory of Utek carried knowledge that the party seeks, they would likely need to commune with the consciousness inside the Memory.
After learning this information, the party asked Dalius to help them with identifying the individual who attempted to deliver the Memory of Utek to them. Dalius took the party on a "field trip" through a doorway on the far side of the room, which deposited them floating high above the city of Vecos. At their request, Dalius transported them to the moment the fireball detonated outside of their home during the events of Act I, Chapter VI, Hoo Goes There? using powerful Divination magic. Through the spell, the players were able to learn the following information about what had transpired the previous day:
At the advice of Dalius, Gloria led the party to her most trusted smithy in the Forum, a Dwarf named Giuseppe Marley. For 25 GP, Giuseppe agreed to construct a lead-lined iron strongbox as a means of safekeeping the Memory of Utek. However, the strongbox would take about 3 days for Giuseppe to construct. In the meantime, the party resolved to keep the Memory of Utek in their Elemental stove in their house.
On their Gondola ride back to their house with Tony, Bartolomeo became overtaken by the Memory of Utek, and attempted to get himself and everyone else into the water by hacking the Gondola to pieces with his greataxe. Chaos insued, resulting in Bartolomeo jumping into the water and regaining consciousness. Gloria Thimble then took control of the Memory of Utek for the remainder of the day.
Upon returning hom, the party placed the Memory of Utek inside the Elemental stove, and made plans to visit Dalius the Augur early in the morning tomorrow, followed by a visit to Mauro di Losco at Consorza Automa.
That evening, long after most of the party was asleep (aside from Munia Ingens, who was tending to the potato bugs in her subterranean thicket), Gloria rose from her bed and began sleep-walking downstairs to the kitchen. Bartolomeo, being a light-sleeper due to his Elven heritage, saw her and followed her downstairs. In the kitchen, Gloria attempted to open the stove and take hold of the Memory of Utek, but was successfull restrained and brought back to consciousness by the party.
Dundra McFearson volunteered to stay up the rest of the night and keep watch on the stove, as neither Bartolomeo nor Gloria could be trusted with the Memory of Utek. To help Gloria get back to sleep, Bartolomeo read her a selection from his favorite book, Vacations in Vecos by Albizzo Rozelli.
With some help from Tony, the party located the Augur's place of business: a simple storefront labeled with a single sign reading "The Perch", about halfway down a narrow and nondescript alleyway. When the party arrived, they found that a line had already formed outside of The Perch. They settled in to wait their turn to see The Augur.
During their wait, members of the party made the following observations:
- Peering through a window, Gloria noted that The Perch was seemingly empty inside; there was no furniture, decorations, household items, or people to see within.
- Sassa Parizi noted that the doorman to The Perch, while human in appearance, had distinctly bird-like features to him. She tried to clue other party members into her observation, but her friends were either unable or unwilling to see her truth.
- As the people ahead of them in line cycled in and out of the door, the party observed varied reactions to Dalius' augury. Some left overjoyed; others crestfallen.
The party presented Dalius with the Memory of Utek, and asked him to identify it. Dalius called down an owl from the walls above to assist him in identification. He shared with the party that the Memory of Utek is a very powerful magical artifact that contains part of the fractured consciousness of Utek. Utek, also known by the title of Utek the Overmind, was one of the Deep Dreamers, a pantheon of malevolent deep-sea deities that fought against the sentient beings of the oceans in antiquity. In order to defeat Utek, the sentient peoples of the seas had to split his consciousness into hundreds of magical stones, or memories. Dalius explained that if this particular Memory of Utek carried knowledge that the party seeks, they would likely need to commune with the consciousness inside the Memory.
After learning this information, the party asked Dalius to help them with identifying the individual who attempted to deliver the Memory of Utek to them. Dalius took the party on a "field trip" through a doorway on the far side of the room, which deposited them floating high above the city of Vecos. At their request, Dalius transported them to the moment the fireball detonated outside of their home during the events of Act I, Chapter VI, Hoo Goes There? using powerful Divination magic. Through the spell, the players were able to learn the following information about what had transpired the previous day:
- The detonation was created by an enchanted fireball "bomb" that was thrown by an Automaton on one of the rooftops opposite of the player's home.
- The individual who was carrying the Memory of Utek was a Gnome; the gnome was being tracked both by the assailants on the street, and by the Automaton on the rooftops above.
- One of the assailants (not the one who escaped with the Memory of Utek after the fireball exploded) had distinctive eyeball tattoos all over the top of his head.
At the advice of Dalius, Gloria led the party to her most trusted smithy in the Forum, a Dwarf named Giuseppe Marley. For 25 GP, Giuseppe agreed to construct a lead-lined iron strongbox as a means of safekeeping the Memory of Utek. However, the strongbox would take about 3 days for Giuseppe to construct. In the meantime, the party resolved to keep the Memory of Utek in their Elemental stove in their house.
On their Gondola ride back to their house with Tony, Bartolomeo became overtaken by the Memory of Utek, and attempted to get himself and everyone else into the water by hacking the Gondola to pieces with his greataxe. Chaos insued, resulting in Bartolomeo jumping into the water and regaining consciousness. Gloria Thimble then took control of the Memory of Utek for the remainder of the day.
Upon returning hom, the party placed the Memory of Utek inside the Elemental stove, and made plans to visit Dalius the Augur early in the morning tomorrow, followed by a visit to Mauro di Losco at Consorza Automa.
That evening, long after most of the party was asleep (aside from Munia Ingens, who was tending to the potato bugs in her subterranean thicket), Gloria rose from her bed and began sleep-walking downstairs to the kitchen. Bartolomeo, being a light-sleeper due to his Elven heritage, saw her and followed her downstairs. In the kitchen, Gloria attempted to open the stove and take hold of the Memory of Utek, but was successfull restrained and brought back to consciousness by the party.
Dundra McFearson volunteered to stay up the rest of the night and keep watch on the stove, as neither Bartolomeo nor Gloria could be trusted with the Memory of Utek. To help Gloria get back to sleep, Bartolomeo read her a selection from his favorite book, Vacations in Vecos by Albizzo Rozelli.
Character(s) interacted with
- Antonio "Tony" Barberiny
- Dalius the Augur
- Giuseppe Marley
Created Content
- Giuseppe Marley and his smithy in the Forum.
- Gloria Thimble has a favorite "pasta cart" near the party's home.
Notes
- Vacations in Vecos might be Bartolomeo's favorite book, and may be what convinced him to come to Vecos in the first place.
- Dundra McFearson was not recognized by any of the people in line, nor by Giuseppe Marley or Dalius the Augur, bringing her total nonrecognitions up to 10.
