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Adventure: Food of the Gods (DM: ryryguy, Judge: renau1g)

ryryguy

First Post
Krassus is looking a bit shell-shocked again, having witnessed the latest violence from a safe distance, but it still made an impression on him. Jynxx's condescending attitude doesn't seem to register on him. It takes a few minutes to convince the mule to ford the river over the broken bridge, but you're able to do it.

The rest of the journey back to Fulcrum passes without incident. The sunrod continues to light the way as night falls. The temperature drops quickly as the jungle gives way to forest, and a light rain starts about fifteen minutes before journey's end. The group arrives damp (though not thoroughly soaked), sore, hungry and tired.

ooc: I assume you are going to the inn where Castofle is supposed to be staying

The Green Skeleton Inn is pretty easy to find, as it is the only building with a sparkling, emerald-hued human skeleton nailed above its door, one bony arm and hand uplifted as if to wave hello. Up close, it's apparent that the skeleton is actually a painted wood sculpture of low quality artisanship. The building is somewhat ramshackle. It looks like it was originally a large two story house, but two long single-story wings have been added to form an L-shape. There is a covered veranda along the front that also looks like a recent addition.

Inside, the ground floor of the house has been converted into a large common room, with comfortable-looking couches and stuffed chairs, several long tables, and a circular stone fireplace that holds a roaring fire. There are a few other gaudily-painted wood sculptures in the corners and near the couches: a huge crimson dragon skull, a blue boar with purple tusks rearing up unrealistically on its hind legs, a figure that might be intended to portray an eladrin with a huge forehead, and several different types of birds. A few travelers sit around the fire drinking from bowls of soup. They look up uninterestedly.

A rotund middle-aged man in an apron approaches. "Welcome to the Green Skeleton," he says, rubbing his hands together. "Do you need a room, or care for a meal?"
 

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Mewness

First Post
"Um, yes," replies Papolstaanas's voice from somewhere behind one of Chaku's enormous legs. "I mean, that is, both. Rooms for tonight and, and food. I guess we can share rooms," he goes on, looking around at his companions, "if that's all right. And we're looking for our human friend, Castofle. Is he staying here?"
 

renau1g

First Post
[sblock=XP and Loot!]

Bridge (encounter 4):
  • Pale Man (aka "Onster Glarrak") (Level 3 Elite Artillery) (300 xp)
  • 2 Dwarf Hammerer (Level 3 Soldier) (300 xp)
  • 2 Blood Warriors* (aka Poisonscale Magus) (Level 2 Artillery) (250 xp)
  • 4 Human Rabble (Level 2 Minion) (124 xp)
  • 1 Piranha Swarm (aka Needlfang Drake Swarm) (Level 1 Soldier) (125 xp)

* I'm still giving XP for the guy who fled, since he did contribute to the difficulty of the encounter, and you basically defeated him.

1099 total XP (Encounter Level 4 - Hard)
+10% for difficult encounter setup/terrain (5 space gap!)
= 1209
/ 6 PCs
= 201.5
x 2 (L4W bonus)
= 403 total XP per player

That's enough for level 2. Congratulations! :D You can level up after an extended rest (presumably in Fulcrum).

Loot:

  • 120 gp cash
  • maw of the guardian warhammer +1
  • fortification scale armor +1

(Note, I still owe you some more loot for level 1... One more item and lots of cash. I'll try to see that you get it soon!)
[/sblock]

[sblock=Judge]
Sorry for the delay. I approve of these awards and also approve of 6 DM credits for ryryguy (3 additional months of adventure) [/sblock]
 

ryryguy

First Post
"Castofle?" the innkeeper responds. A flicker of annoyance crosses his face. "Oh yes, he's here - in the kitchen." He points at a door. "For food, how about some vegetable stew? I'm going to be running a special on vegetable stew for a while..."

Behind the door is a small kitchen. Castofle is there, at a counter, a large knife flashing in his hand as he dices an onion. It looks like he's been at it for a while, judging from the large pile of diced onion in front of him. Further down the counter are mammoth piles of what look like potatoes, yams, and peppers, all cut down into neat, equal sized cubes.

Castofle looks up as you come in. His eyes are watering from the onion. "Oh, you're back," he says. He seems distracted.
 

Mewness

First Post
[sblock=ryryguy]I submitted P for approval but forgot to mention that I did an overhaul, and that requires your okay as he's in the middle of an adventure. It's very minor--I reduced Con to 16 and increased Str to 18. Also swapped out an at-will but he can do that under the retraining rules anyway.[/sblock]
 

ryryguy

First Post
[sblock=ryryguy]I submitted P for approval but forgot to mention that I did an overhaul, and that requires your okay as he's in the middle of an adventure. It's very minor--I reduced Con to 16 and increased Str to 18. Also swapped out an at-will but he can do that under the retraining rules anyway.[/sblock]
[sblock=Mewness]Sure, no problem.[/sblock]
 

Mewness

First Post
Wall... Of... Teeeeext!

"Castofle!" Papolstaanas exclaims happily. "We're so glad to see you! You see these horrible zocaltiplapata--um, these really bad people burned the plantation and killed the workers and stole the zocalti and so we tried to-to-to get restitution from the head-man of Newhill, because that's how things are supposed to work, it's his jurisdiction or whatever, but he won't give it to us because he's undead and kind of crazy, well not crazy exactly, just, I don't know, sort of depressed, like the endless undead existence isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know? And he's kind of lost pleasure in his life or death or whatever, but you see he likes, he likes food, and drink, I mean he used to before he died and became whatever he is now, only it's not the same because his tongue or his nose doesn't work or something or maybe he doesn't even have a tongue or a nose, I mean I haven't really looked closely at his face because frankly he's sort of scary, and so he keeps hiring cooks hoping that they can restore his pleasure in fine cuisine but they can't because they lack vision but you could, because you have such incredible ideas, and wouldn't it just be the most amazing achievement if you could make a dish that would, that would--knock an undead fellow's socks off or whatever he has on his feet to be knocked off?" Papolstaanas doesn't appear to notice that Castofle isn't paying much attention. "B-b-but what are you doing in, in the kitchen? You don't work here, do you?"
 

Charm

First Post
Cillani rolled her eyes but allowed Jynxx to drag her along. The rest of the trip was a blurr to her. Her mind had her elsewhere thinking on the past and her own woes. Arriving at the inn jarred her slightly back to the present but she stayed close to Jynxx. "So this shall be our dwelling for the night. Nice." And she really did mean it, the morbid decorations made her feel oddly at peace. "I hope you're not afraid of the dark still Br'ther." She giggles at an old memory.
 

OnlytheStrong

Explorer
"Do you still have your taste for toads dear sister?" Jynxx remarked passively, not bothering to cast a glance at his sister.

Jynxx nearly laughed at his kobold companions incredibly quit, yet massive speech. "Well said, dear friend. Well said indeed. Perhaps he would like a somewhat more... vivid explanation of the details."

Jynxx embarks on his tale with his usual public flare. He highlights the details of their first encounter, slightly exaggerating the amount of foes they faced. He uses this interlude to introduce their newfound and somewhat reluctant companion, Krassus. He tells of the betrayal of the man, taking care to not embarrass him by saying too much. Instead he highlights the act of betrayal, making seem as though the man almost sold his soul to an evil god in exchange for nothing.

Jynxx details the lich king's story very well. He tell of each foe they encountered, of the eye that was watching them, down to how the front lawn was cut and groomed. He tells the details of the outer structures of the buildings, of the interior decoration. When time came to tell of the lich himself... he seemingly ran out of words.

Somewhat embarrassed he turns to his group, "I lack the words to describe such a creature as we have witnessed. I am ashamed to say my knowledge of such a man, even an undead one is limited at best." Jynxx allows his group to describe the man, but then quickly swings back into his stories. He tells of the man's behavior, of his title and rank, and his love for fine food. He takes his time and mentions especially of his promise to the lich, to find the best cook in the land and bring him to make a beautiful meal for him.

Jynxx skims through the combats and the trip of the return voyage. "And so, Castofle, we have come to see the man who holds the repuation of the best cook of zocalti in the land. We have sought you out and ask you humbly to return to with us. We have little time before our deadline, and would like for us to leave as soon as possible."
 

LadyLaw

First Post
Politely addressing the inkeeper, "Vegetable stew sounds delicious. I would also appreciate a breadroll, if there are any available, and a mug of light ale. A room for the evening is also desirable: my own, if there are enough available."

Azryah stands and listens passively as Jynxx tells their tale to Castofle, and anyone else who gathers to listen while he speaks. She does not add any input to the description of the lich.

"In the morning,"
Azryah adds quickly when Jynxx completes his tale and entreaty to Castofle. "We'd like to leave as soon as possible in the morning. Tonight we are all tired and seek only dinner and beds to rest after a long day, as I'm sure you can understand."
 

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