Session Recap - 20 March 2009
From Loranon
| Session Recap | |
|---|---|
| 20 March 2009 | |
| Start Date | 13 March 1332 |
| End Date | 14 March 1332 |
| Adventure Locations | Xalo (The Dregs) |
| Previous Session | 17 May 2008 |
| Next Session | 27 March 2009 |
| Image:Session Recap - 20 March 2009.png | |
Participating Characters
Tristram Shandy, Taliesin Caradoc, Conhar Cowmilker, Saint Exquisite, Garthen Earthmender, Mikeal Orcaleone
Introductions at the Buckets
Taliesin Caradoc
After Manuel left Taliesin Caradoc's office, the detective went about making himself presentable. As he was about to leave, he heard the familiar sound of a cocking hand crossbow.
- Taliesin Caradoc (narration):
- This is not the first time someone has burst into my lodgings, as my door is a tattered drape. I keep meaning to get a real door; doors are expensive. Keep getting mugged. Despite being 185 years old, I can't seem to get more than 35 gold at a time. It's a gambling problem, see. I like to gamble.
- Thug:
- Jonny's lookin' fer ya.
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- Jonny? What's Jonny want?
- Thug:
- He wants that gambling money you owe him.
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- I keep gambling, and I'm out of money. I have a job. I'm, uh… looking for someone.
- Thug:
- How soon are you going to get paid?
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- As soon as I find him. I'm pretty good at finding people.
- Thug:
- I don't think Jonny can wait that long.
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- Jonny's going to have to wait.
- Thug:
- I dunno. Jonny said that if you didn't have the money here right now that I was supposed to shoot ya.
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- I'll give 15 gold now.
- Thug:
- 15 gold? I don't think that's going to be enough. What ya got in that backroom that you just locked up?
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- Uh, a bunch of used journals.
- Thug:
- Used journals? No, I need money. Gold. Jewelry.
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- I have 15 gold. I have 15 gold. That's all you're going to get.
- Thug:
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- You're my trusted ally now.
- Thug:
- You bet. I'm sure there's some way I can work this out with Jonny.
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- Can you pay the debt for me?
- Thug:
- You owe a lot of money. I don't even have that kind of money.
- Taliesin Caradoc:
- You got to help me out of this. Jonny's sending hit men after me!
- Thug:
- You bet he is. He told me to kill ya if ya didn't have the money! He'll send more next time! You give me that 15 gold and I'll try to make it good with Jonny.
After ushering the thug out of his abode, Taliesin moved to the Buckets o' Beer tavern.
| Taliesin charms a thug trying to collect a gambling debt. |
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Tristram Shandy
Tristram Shandy arrived in The Dregs in search of Annie Stollbuck upon the advice of the detective Taliesin Caradoc. The detective informed Tristram that Amelia, a server at the Buckets o' Beer tavern, knew something about Annie's disappearane. Tristram kept his distance from the celebration that was underway. Apparently, the Amelia woman had recently birthed another little proletarian. He attempted to bide his time to speak with Amelia, but was accosted by various patrons, including the prophetic Garthen Earthmender.
Mikeal Orcaleone
Mikeal Orcaleone presented himself to his sister, Amelia, to celebrate the recent birth of her baby. He offered gifts from their father to her and upon hearing that the child was a masculine child, offered her more.
Garthen Earthmender
After arriving in Xalo, Garthen Earthmender made his way to the Buckets o' Beer tavern to find the people from his vision. He attempted to endear himself to the people, but was largely rebuffed. Several women were scared away by his conversation.
Conhar Cowmilker
Conhar Cowmilker sat by the door of the Buckets in wait for The Detective. He was in need of red leaf snuff, and he hoped that The Detective could help him locate some.
Saint Exquisite
Saint Exquisite came to the Buckets for one reason: to slap the bitch Amelia for giving her the evil side-eye two months ago in Nacho. Unfortunately, Amelia was surrounded by various scary people since she arrived at the Buckets. Saint Exquisite waited.
| A large group of people celebrate the birth of Amelia's baby at the Buckets o' Beer tavern. |
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Attack on the Buckets
After taking on a job to find some red leaf snuff for Conhar Cowmilker, Taliesin introduced Tristram to Amelia. Just as she was about to answer the question of Annie's whereabouts, the door to the Buckets shattered open to reveal a squad of Jasidin Purple Guards.
One of the guards restrained Clarissa Bioden, the barmaid, after she confronted them. The rest of the guards set up a line across the tavern, weapons drawn. A wizened mage of the Order of Night's Breath, a Wee-Jasian order responsible for scrying and divination duties in the "protection" of Xalo and Daromir, entered the tavern. After looking around the room, he remarked the presence of Amelia and moved to a door connected to the main room of the tavern. Amelia jumped from her seat, screaming and lunged across the room. Mikeal failed to stop her, and she was slammed to the ground by the Purple Guards. Mekor entered the room through the door. As the door is closed behind him, the crying of baby was heard.
After a brief confrontation, Mekor left with Amelia's baby. Moments after Mekor and his squad left the Buckets, sounds of combat were heard from the street. Garthen and Taliesin moved outside to investigate. They saw Mekor grasping at his throat, unable to speak with the fingers of his hands contorted into strange positions. Amelia's baby was not in sight. A number of the Purple Guards were on the ground, dead. The sound of combat faded as a huge bank of fog enveloped the scene. Taliesin looted the bodies before the fog faded. He investigated the scene and uncovered a brooch stylized in the fashion of the symbol of the philosophy the Way of Libertas.
Back in the tavern, Amelia cried hysterically for her taken baby, and Clarissa silently wept with her head on the bar. Conhar took up the bar tending duties.
After a time, Garthen Earthmender attempted to gather the people from his vision to save Amelia's baby. He was eventually successful, though he had a very difficult time getting the group to commit to the search. It was late, so the party decided to begin the search in the morning.
| Mekor, a wizard of the Order of Night's Breath kidnaps Amelia's baby as Jasidin Purple Guards keep the crowd at bay. |
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Chronos
Just before waking, Tristram received a message in his sleep.
Hello, Tristram Shandy. I have waited a long time to speak with you. The first rule that you are required to obey is that you do not tell anyone about my visit to you. If you decide to break this rule, undue amounts of harm shall be visited upon your parents and your sweet love, Annie. Yes, I know of her current situation. She is alive but not well. Do not mistake me, though; I am not responsible for her current plight.
You may refer to me as Chronos. I am here to offer you guidance. But do not mistake my words for benevolence. In the coming days, your friend Alex will approach you and tell you of a tomb not far outside the city. He will tell you that it contains powerful magic items. You must explore this tomb, though do not go alone. You may not find the items that Alex speaks of at first, but keep looking. They are there. And you must find them.
I leave you with following warning from the Diran Prophecy:
The Mezran Twilight will be like a falling tear,
Glimmering with the last light of the days.
Featempla unleashed, the Shadow born,
The Forge of the World cold.
When the night falls, there will be no tears left to shed.
Let's Go to Candy Mountain
Based on the Libertas symbol clue that Taliesin discovered, he decided to speak with followers of the Way of Libertas, a pro-liberty philosophy. He lead the party to Candy Mountain, an area of The Dregs heavily influenced by the illicit drug and sex trades.
The party first spoke with Charlie, a drug dealer. Taliesin first tried to procure red leaf snuff, but Charlie informed him that kind of drug was high-class stuff and only available in the Arcane District. Upon mentioning Taliesin's gambling debts and trouble with Jonny, Charlie informed him that he had been crunching some numbers lately and determined that gambling doesn't work because the odds seem to be in the favor of the house.
After asking about Amelia, Charlie made several remarks concerning her promiscuity, attractiveness, and the fact that she is no longer "preggos". Insulted, Mikeal aggressively interrogated Charlie to get the answers that they sought. Unfortunately, he was not able to provide any useful information.
The party moved on to the Square Bar to speak with Darrell, another follower of the Way of Libertas. The party learned that another new mother recently had her baby snatched. Upon visiting her, they learned that it was more Jasidin Purple Guards that took her baby.
Visit to the Arcane District
Tristram decided to visit some of his contacts in the Arcane District. Before Tristram could question his friend Alex Danver, Alex jumped to inform Tristram about a conversation he had with their common master, Ignacius Alvers. Apparently, Ignacius spoke of a tomb not far outside the city that has housed a dead wizard for over 1000 years without being disturbed. Alex proposed to grab some mercenaries from the Falcon Company and visit the tomb. Tristram passed on the offer for now and asked questions about the missing babies. Alex stated that he had heard about the Order of Night's Breath kidnapping babies for weeks. He dismissed that the baby-snatching was important to stop but he did speak with Tristram at length about what experiments they might be doing that required newborns. After a time, they settled on the idea that the Order of Night's Breath must be constructing some sort of Baby Golem.
After leaving Alex, Tristram went to speak with his master, Ignacius Alvers. Ignacius didn't know exactly why the Order of Night's Breath would steal babies, but he did go on at length about the capabilities of a Baby Golem.
Searching for Amelia
Upon returning to the Buckets, the party discovered that Amelia had gone missing. Investigating, Taliesin discovered that that Amelia was last seen leaving the area with a well-armed, blonde-haired elven woman.
After asking around, the party found themselves in front of a warehouse that the elven woman had gone into. They were confronted by sentries, but they were able to knock one out and charm the other. The charmed sentry led the party into the basement of the warehouse where they found Amelia, her baby, and the elven woman in a room with lead sheets covering the walls, ceiling and floor.
The woman introduced herself as Whisperwind, a member of the Order of Libertas, a resistance group operating in Daromir who follows the Way of Libertas. She claimed that her order was protecting Amelia and her baby from the Order of Night's Breath. She explained that the Order of Night's Breath had been kidnapping babies in Xalo for the past two weeks. At first, she thought they were kidnapping the babies to construct a Baby Golem, but that the Order of Night's Breath wasn't kidnapping enough to construct the golem. Even though she is not certain of what their motive is, she explained that her order often opposes the oppressive ways of the Church of Wee Jas and the Daromir government.
As Garthen attempted to offer the party's assistance in working against the Order of Night's Breath (which the party opposed), the group came under attack by Jasidin Purple Guards. Whisperwind handed each of the party members one of the lead circlets and some doses of Mageblight Poison.
After a long fight, the party made it out of the warehouse and rushed towards the secondary safehouse.
