More Charisma Than a Roomful of Nymphs (finished, link to full SH in last post)

[Hairy Minotaur]

Dropping Valic at the Docks
Not long after that, he had selected an excellent hard case from the case room (which, surprisingly, did not cost money to enter) and left the building. Blissfully unaware of what sort of trouble the rest of the Follies had gotten themselves into, Cupric and Artemis made their way back to Farry's Port in a leisurely fashion.

Not really surprising, since they'd already gouged the buyer by the time any purchase is made. The cost to see the cases as well as the case was most likely tacked on to the price of the lute. It's those hidden fees you have to watch out for.

 

[haiiro]

Belvemma's Row

Relaying Thissiken's message to De'lea, Tuggle quickly ascertained the location of Belv Row -- which was actually Belvemma's Row, a small district populated by herbalists, potion-brewers and the like. They decided that De'lea would head straight there, while Tuggle ran back to Farry's Port and rounded up the rest of the Follies. If they had trouble linking up in the Row, they'd meet at the closest lavender shop.

Returning to the inn, Tuggle found Talishmere entertaining drunks with an account of Torm's defeat of Bane, and Vicktor on his way to becoming a drunk himself. After breaking off Jaehn's mediation session upstairs, Tuggle left a note with the barkeep for Cupric and Artemis: "Belv Alley - South end of city...quickly! All but you two are there for our friend. - Tuggle."

He tried to strike a balance between being informative and giving away too much to the barkeep, and did a fair job of it -- which was really too bad, because after the barkeep received his tip (one copper piece), he looked highly unlikely to deliver the message to anyone.

Since Tuggle's familiar, Thss, wasn't terribly well suited to the role of advance scout, Jaehn dispatched Drake to Belvemma's Row. The raven's instructions were to find Thissiken, make as much of a racket as possible, and then lead Thissiken to De'lea.

As Drake picked up speed and flapped off over the rooftops, Vicktor, Jaehn, Tuggle and Tal headed for the Row with all possible haste. By the time they reached it, half a candlemark (thirty minutes, to one of Gond's clockmakers) had passed since the Follies received Thissiken's missive.

Belvemma's Row turned out to be a large open-air bazaar jammed into a crowded, twisting maze of narrow streets, alleyways and courtyards. Where the buildings leading up to it tended to be two or three stories tall, those in the Row looked to be rarely more than a single story in height. Nearly every building sprouted an awning or two, under which vendors stood behind stalls; between open doors and curtained entryways were peddlers with their wares spread out on bolts of cloth, vying for space with those who had set up tables.

The Follies were immediately assaulted by a range of strong smells -- and given the sullen and unsavory atmosphere of the Row itself, being assaulted by the vendors themselves seemed fairly likely. In fact, it had been clear for some time before arriving in the Row itself that they were not in a very good part of the city. Still, the Row itself made the surrounding neighborhood look positively inviting -- and noting this, De'lea focused her will and detected evil in the direction of the stalls.

Of the dozen people she could readily see, every one of them radiated an aura of evil.

At about this time, the Follies converged on De'lea, and Drake emerged from the Row, cawing loudly and herding Thissiken in their direction. He ran up to them at full tilt and barreled into Tal. Clutching one of Tal's legs, he began shouting: "Wehaveto getaway! He'safterme! Youhaveto helpme!"

Somewhat skeptical, the Follies nonetheless calmed him down and tried to find out exactly what was going on. After a few moments, a description of his pursuer emerged: a tall man, well over seven feet, dressed entirely in white. Although no one fitting this description was visible from where the Follies were standing, Thissiken seemed to think that he was heading in their direction.

At Jaehn's command, Drake took off and did a quick reconnaissance flight over the Row -- reporting back almost immediately that a tall man in white was indeed on his way to pay them a visit.

 

[haiiro]

A Very Brief Battle

Per usual, the Follies scattered: Jaehn shifted his disguise into that of a one-armed, one-legged beggar; Tal started escorting a crazed Thissiken away from the entrance to the Row; De'lea and Tuggle stepped into nearby alleyways to await the man in white; and Vicktor blended into the background, pretending to be interested in a cinnamon stall.

Though no one took the time to express it, most of the Follies shared a moment of black humor: they were shy two party members, and three out of the five present were spellcasters who were all but out of spells.

There was, in short, some cause for worry.

As the figure in white passed by Vicktor, the pugilist caught a strong scent of sickly-sweet honeysuckle, easily detected even over the prevailing smell of cinnamon. As Tal tried to stay somewhat in view without being too close (and used Thissiken as bait) the figure exited the Row entirely.

Seizing the moment, Jaehn hobbled out in front of him, arresting his progress. As the figure first flinched back and then loomed over him, Jaehn looked up at him with his ruined face and said, "Spare a copper, sir?"

The figure was shrouded in heavy white robes, and his face was almost entirely covered in folds of a gauzy material. As Jaehn jiggled his upraised palm pathetically, a small black cylinder emerged from the figure's robes at around chest height. Its tip flashed brightly at Jaehn, and the illusionist found himself feeling incredibly well disposed towards his new friend -- he had been charmed.

In a voice that was at once sonorous and grating, the figure spoke. "Take me to the gnome."

"Which gnome, sir?" croaked Jaehn.

In response, the figure described someone who sounded an awful lot like Algaer -- and when Jaehn told him he didn't know where this gnome was, the figure then described Thissiken. Pleased to be able to help his friend, Jaehn nodded enthusiastically and began hobbling in Thissiken's direction as fast as he could -- which wasn't very quickly at all, what with his one leg.

After following the beggar for a few of his long paces, the figure snarled, "Go faster."

No stranger to disguises, Jaehn knew that this was a bad idea: if he went faster, it'd be obvious that he wasn't really a crippled beggar, and his disguise would be blown. As the figure kicked him to the ground, the cloud over Jaehn's judgment passed completely -- and in the same instant, the white figure spotted Thissiken through the crowd.

As he broke into a run, Tuggle scampered up behind the man in white, drawing Snakestrike and letting it hang loosely at his side. Vicktor (who was already in motion) charged past the white-robed figure at full-tilt and stopped about ten feet in front of him, blocking his way. Noticing this, Tal shouted at Thissiken to keep moving -- while casting enlarge person on Vicktor.

The beast of Saerloon rapidly doubled in size, taking one corner of an awning up with him and knocking aside a startled pedestrian. Not knowing how or why this was happening to him, Vicktor was baffled -- but only for a heartbeat.

At that moment, the white figure stopped short, reared back, and then thrust his head in Vicktor's direction. The pugilist staggered back, feeling as though an explosion had just taken place inside his skull. His mind a blank, he was dazed and completely out of action.

The white figure's reaction was unexpected: he too staggered a bit, looking fatigued -- as if he had just placed himself under a great strain. Not one to miss a chance, Tuggle unleashed the fury of his family's ancient heirloom, Snakestrike (a sure sign that the tiny sorcerer was out of spells).

His mighty blow just managed to graze his foe, barely breaking skin -- and quite likely causing several of Tuggle's ancestors to spin in their graves.

 

[haiiro]

Even down on the ground, Jaehn was a flurry of activity. Compartmentalizing his mind, he attempted to daze the white figure, while simultaneously commanding Drake to seek out the music district and round up Cupric and Artemis. Perhaps because Drake began to argue with him (it's a big city, and he had no idea where to look, and...) the spell passed harmlessly around its target. At that same moment, De'lea burst from concealment.

The fire of her faith at full roar, she brought her sword around in a great sweeping arc and smote the figure in white. Brushing aside the flickering force of his mage armor, her blow cut him in two just above the elbows. There was a brief, pregnant pause -- and then he appeared to explode, showering everyone within ten feet with blood as he fell apart.

Wet and startled, Tuggle and Jaehn nonetheless wasted no time giving his corpse the once-over: while Jaehn patted down the bottom half, Tuggle searched the top half.

As De'lea stood over them, wiping her sword clean, Tuggle's search uncovered the figure's face -- and the gnome got a good look at his pale gray skin, elongated head, and tentacles. Although his features were otherwise mostly human, a slim and noisome tentacle protruded from just beneath each eye, and another pair emerged from the creature's jaw line.

Leaving the creature's hood open so others could see his true nature, Tuggle quickly directed a recent occupant at him. While Tuggle learned that the being's name was Liddis Malzevent, and that he was a bel-illeth, Jaehn recovered the slim black wand that had been used to charm him.

Noting that screams of panic and fear had started up -- and that the blood-soaked bystanders were beginning to come out of shock -- the pair then did their best to look innocuous. Jaehn used his hat to disguise away the blood and fade into the background, while Tuggle commenced wailing and pretending to be surprised by what had just taken place.

What followed was a few minutes of frenzied escaping, negotiating with guards, deception, stealth, and existential confusion (the latter, oddly enough, contributed by Vicktor).

First: the existential confusion. After a moment of what the hell is going on around here, ogre-sized Vicktor climbed the closest building and began clambering over the rooftops. When he reached a gap too wide to cross, he sat down to wait and see if he'd return to normal size, the whole time wishing he had some way to wash off all the blood.

Eventually he shrank, shrugged it off, and started walking back to the inn.

Second: the escaping, negotiating, and other trickery. Two squads of guards -- Calderro's Blades and Alseyn's Rangers -- also arrived in rapid succession. Though it would have been difficult for an observer to sort out, in a short period of time they: believed Tuggle's story about De'lea rescuing them; found out about Tuggle's Follies and their performance that night; got lambasted by Tal for failing to adequately guard the city; tried to detain several Follies (even going so far as to surround them with a spear circle); and wound up letting them all go, although only after Tuggle told the Blades their names.

In any case, a lot of bluffing was involved.

When all was said and done, it was the second time in the past few hours that the Follies had made their way back to Farry's Port in ones and twos -- only this time they had Thissiken in tow, riding piggyback on Talishmere.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Haiiro!

Great updates. I love those weird all-in-white villains. Not nearly enough of them... but imagine my skin-shivering joy when:

Although his features were otherwise mostly human, a slim and noisome tentacle protruded from just beneath each eye, and another pair emerged from the creature's jaw line

Sounds promising, but what the jitterbugs is it?

Once again, your descriptions are spot on - getting better with each post and it really makes the atmosphere tangible. Including all the senses is something sorely neglected, but maybe you have a mental checklist. I dunno. Keep it up.

Spider - off to reinstall the Eye of the Beholder for the nth time.

 

[haiiro]

Sounds promising, but what the jitterbugs is it?

I don't think they ever looked into it in detail, but the players are pretty sure Liddis was a half-illithid.

Incidentally, by the numbers he should have been a healthy challenge for the Follies (particularly short two PCs). He took 1 point of damage from Tuggle's ancestral hammer, and then one good swat from De'lea killed him. One of those classic moments every DM runs into from time to time.

 

[haiiro]

Thissiken's Font of Information

Once everyone was back at Farry's Port and stories of recent events had been exchanged, the Follies settled in to pick Thissiken's brain -- and over the next candlemark or so, they learned quite a bit.

For starters, Thissiken was no simple drakesmith -- and being a drakesmith wasn't as simple as it sounded. After cautioning Tal not to jostle him the whole way back to the inn, Thissiken took up residence on the largest bed in the room and demanded pipeweed and tea. When Tal had grumpily fetched him both items, he commenced puffing like a chimney.

Surrounded by a pall of smoke, Thissiken asked, "Now. What do you want to know?"

The Follies began by asking him if he'd heard of some of the people -- and things -- that they'd encountered since they left his shop. He answered no to all but one: Liddis Malzevent.

"Liddis Malzevent, I don't know -- but everyone knows Tarcas Malzevent. Have you seen the cables yet?"

Thissiken proceeded to describe the cables that the Follies had caught a glimpse of earlier on in the day. As he told it, there was a very tall tower in the High City from which three thick cables extended out over the river. These cables touched down at three different spots in the Market, and Tarcas Malzevent ran the cable buildings. Special casks slid down the cables into the Low City, and were winched back up into the High City -- bearing messages and other items, Thissiken guessed.

Selgaunters called Tarcas "the Low Prince," because although he was an important man he wasn't actually a prince. He was the chief enforcer for the Argent Rook vintners guild, and by all accounts he was also a nasty piece of work. Although Thissiken didn't have all of the details, he said that Tarcas was well known for being involved in a variety of shady business.

As it turned out, Thissiken wasn't such a stranger to that sort of thing himself. When he casually mentioned that he wasn't always a drakesmith, the Follies pressed him on the issue.

He responded, "I was an...entrepreneur."

"You were a thief," said Cupric.

"More of a liberator of possessions," answered Thissiken. "My specialty was gems. I love gems. That's how I was able to start up my shop -- it isn't cheap being in the dracotechnics business."

As conversation turned to the guard factions, the princes, and their various stances on open magic use, it became clear that Thissiken was more cagey than he seemed. He divided the factions four ways: the Skyclads, who cared the most about magic use and came down very hard on it; Davisson's Legion, who generally only cared if someone was around to notice them caring; the Wheels, who couldn't care less; and everyone else, with their opinions on the subject varying over time and according to context.

Thissiken also supplied the Follies with the names of all nine merchant princes, as well as brief descriptions:

- Baric of Blacksedge, a dangerous man with connections to Saerloon.
- Calderro, a straightforward prince whose guards are primarily mercenaries.
- Dizerio of Thay, Selgaunt's newest prince.
- Eeras Davisson, also called the Merchant King; his Legion patrols the High City's walls and the outlying areas.
- Gurrom Lek, rumored to be part-orc, who spends most of his time on the docks or at sea.
- Morcia Alseyn, often out of the city, leaving her Rangers in charge of protecting the surrounding area.
- Sareene Shalligh, about whom little is known (save that her guards are rarely seen outside of the High City).
- Ursmeril, the most brutal prince, whose Skyclads are feared throughout Selgaunt.

On the subject of Gurrom Lek, Thissiken told the Follies that it was fairly widely rumored that the prince held gladiatorial combats in the High City, but he wasn't privy to more details. After demanding more pipeweed (to add to the cloud that was currently obscuring the entire ceiling), he also expressed his gratitude to them -- and made sure to get in a dig about the fact that they hadn't believed him when he said he thought he was in danger.

He also promised to provide them with the schedule of gate guards if they needed it, and hinted at the fact that he could have his contacts look into any areas they had questions about. When asked for a description of some of Selgaunt's major landmarks, he instead offered to have a map drawn up for the Follies that included those places -- and more.

By the time their lengthy conversation was over, there was barely a candlemark left to prepare for their performance. With a basic plan for the evening in place (perform; visit the Copper Cup with Thissiken; go to Pub to secure their new rooms, also with Thissiken), the Follies began their preparations.

 

[haiiro]

The Follies' Second Performance

Over the course of the next hour, Frango visited the Follies' room to let them know that he'd taken three deliveries on wine for the evening, the Follies firmed up their act, and the common room downstairs began to fill up. By the time the Follies made their grand entrance and ascended the pair of stages, the house was truly packed -- and a small mob of people was already gathered outside.

Recalling the crowd's request for bawdy songs the night before, the Follies opened with a popular Rook's Night ballad, and then headed straight into a lewd little number. With Jaehn and his flute supporting Cupric's lute and amazing voice (earning them a nickname: the "ute" brothers), Artemis tumbling up and down the room (and not doing feats of strength), and De'lea -- without her armor -- doing alluring dances and handing out more scarves, the response was tremendous. Off to one side, Thissiken sat between Vicktor and Tal, keeping time with his pipe and apparently enjoying himself immensely.

For the next couple of songs (including a rousing rendition of "A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On The End"), the crowd continued to grow, as more and more people somehow managed to squeeze their way in. A small army of bartenders, including a beaming Frango, kept the wine flowing freely -- if not necessarily cheaply.

At that point, an unexpected guest crashed the party: a silver-furred bear shouldered its way through the front door on its hind legs, parting the crowd like water.

Although many of the revelers further away from the door simply didn't notice, the Follies did -- and they knew whose bear it was, too. Without missing a beat, Cupric employed one of his many bardic talents and fascinated the bear.

It stood rooted to the floor, completely blocking the doorway, swaying slightly and with a glazed expression on its face. After a few moments, the crowd concluded that this must be part of the act, and one man even began dancing with the bear, taking its forepaws in his hands and doing a merry (if drunken) jig.

Knowing that his song would be over quickly -- freeing the bear to act on its own again -- Cupric tried to catch Vicktor's eye. While Vicktor just grinned back and raised his ale mug, Tal noticed the bear on his own and took action.

Acquiring a rack of lamb on a massive wooden platter from Frango, he shouldered his way to the front door. Setting down the lamb, he looked for a way past the bear -- and found the only one available. Getting down on all fours, the cleric began to force his way between the bear's legs. Naturally, this was precisely when Cupric's song ended, at which point the bear also dropped down to all fours.

As two tons of muscle and instinct began munching on the lamb, Tal found himself completely covered by bear. Inching his way out, he gave the platter a swift kick -- sending the lamb sliding out the open door, and the bear lumbering after it.

Having spotted two more bears outside (smaller and darker than the silver one), as well as the dwarf with the handlebar mustache and his three friends, Tal slammed the door, drew his greatsword, and stood fast in the entryway. Noting that all of the Follies were still downstairs -- and all but Artemis were still on or near the stages -- Tal waited a few minutes, then stepped outside. Having weaved his way through the crowd, Tuggle joined him.

The street in front of Farry's Port was full of people -- and the part of it right in front of the door was currently very full of bear.

Faced with three growling bears and their handlers, Tal was impassive and Tuggle was nonchalant. Between them, they conveyed to the mustached dwarf that under no circumstances would his troupe be coming inside until the Follies' performance was over. With dozens of onlookers, they convinced him to back down, and Tal told the handlers he'd let them in when he was ready.

Once back inside, Tal waited a good long while (ignoring the knocking on the door), giving the Follies plenty of time to play their final songs. When they began filing offstage -- to the sound of the whole crowd roaring their drunken approval -- Tuggle announced that the dancing bear troupe would be performing next, and Tal let them in.

With the exhausted Follies watching from various spots in the crowd, the troupe filed sullenly in -- amidst cheering and praise, though not as much as the Follies had received -- and made their way to the stages. They made no introductions, and simply began their act.

With no accompaniment, the three bears danced and gallivanted around the stages, and it wasn’t long before it became clear that no one was enjoying them as much as they used to. After continuing for a few more lackluster minutes, the troupe filed back out of the inn.

As he passed Tuggle, the dwarf glared at him and says, "This isn't over." Through great force of will, Tuggle kept his mouth shut, but like many of the other Follies, he was thinking something along the lines of, Suuuure, suuuuure. Whatever you say...

For the time being, however, it was over. After being thanked profusely by Frango, the Follies retired to their rooms and the crowd began to disperse.

 

[haiiro]

Returning to the Copper Cup

With a brief cooling-off period under their belts, Thissiken led the Follies to the Copper Cup by the most inconspicuous route possible: he hired a barge. Taking them down a short trail that led down from the near end of Davisson Bridge, he secured passage on one of the many small barges that were moored there.

As the dwarven bargeman poled them down the river, they were treated to an amazing view. The forest of masts they saw earlier in the day had receded to either side, and a wide swath of river lay clear before them. To one side were the vast marble walls of the High City, and to the other were the lights and sounds of the Market. Up ahead they could just make out the Sea of Fallen Stars, a vast expanse that glittered darkly in the starlight.

The bargeman let them off a little bit North of their destination, and from there Thissiken guided them through back streets until they arrived at the Cup. In addition to the fairly substantial number of dockworkers and city folk that would normally be in the area, there were also a large number of Gurrom's Wheels present. Most of them were pacing the docks, scanning the river, or otherwise looking away from the Cup itself -- allowing the Follies to approach it unobtrusively.

Not far from the inn's front door, the corpse of one of the giants could still be seen, covered by what looked like sailcloth. A group of dockworkers were sliding long poles under the creature's body, preparing to haul it away. A nearby patch of stained cobbles -- from which stretched a lengthy smear of blood -- was all that remained of the other giant, which must have been dragged away earlier.

Turning their attention to the Cup itself, the Follies were greeted by an altogether different sight. The entire front wall of the inn was now covered in a colorful mural of the dockside battle -- at least, in a manner of speaking. Enthusiastically (if not skillfully) depicted were squads of Wheels and Pikemen doing battle with several giants, while winged minotaurs descended from the heavens. To their relief, the Follies didn't appear in the mural at all.

Inside, the Cup was dark, crowded and noisy. After making sure that no Wheels were in evidence, the Follies split into two groups. One group ascertained that while there were a great many people getting drunk and swapping stories about the battle (all of which were wildly inaccurate), none of them were Algaer.

The other group discovered that for one silver piece, the harried barman would be happy to give them a key to Algaer's room.

"Remind me never to stay at the Copper Cup," muttered Tuggle.

After learning that Algaer had a room more or less permanently kept available for him, the
Follies made their way down the hall in that direction. With Tal, De'lea and Vicktor posted at different points in the hallway, Artemis checked Algaer's door for traps and suspicious markings. Finding none, he opened the door and entered the room, with Thissiken and the other Follies not far behind.

 

[haiiro]

Algaer's Room

By the light spilling in from the hall, they could just make out that Algaer's room was small, neat and empty. With the aid of dancing lights from Cupric, they saw a hammock, a chair and two small tables. On the larger table were about a dozen small paintings, all propped against the wall. The hammock was unoccupied, as was the smaller table -- but it was what was on the chair that drew their attention.

Propped up on the seat was a most peculiar painting. The frame was made of some sort of quartz-like crystal, perhaps thirty inches long and half that in height. A small brass plate was affixed to the lower edge, and it read The Promise of Darkness. The canvas itself was largely black, but closer examination revealed dark blues and gray tones as well.

It showed a tunnel of some sort, which looked to be ankle-deep in water. The viewpoint was from somewhere in the vicinity of the ceiling, looking down the tunnel at an angle. In the foreground, staring up at the source of that viewpoint, was a wet, wild-eyed gnome -- and from his appearance, it was clearly Algaer. Approaching him from further down the tunnel were four dark forms, vaguely humanoid but otherwise impossible to identify. The whole work had an atmosphere of unsettling menace about it.

While Artemis and Tuggle determined that there was nothing else of real interest in the room, Jaehn and Cupric swapped theories about the nature of the painting. Based on his past experience with portals -- and the fact that the painting radiated an aura of faint transmutation magic, just like an inactive portal would -- Jaehn was fairly certain that the painting functioned as a gateway of some sort.

Cupric, on the other hand, had heard of a Sembian painter called Malionh, who was well known for using "Promise" in the titles of his paintings. His work was often done in a dark and brooding style, and it was possible that this painting was one of his.

After a short discussion about what to do with the painting -- take it, or leave it there -- the Follies decided to bring it with them. While it might turn out to be just a painting of Algaer, Thissiken was very agitated at the thought that his friend was somehow stuck inside it -- and as he pointed out, if Algaer returned they could always give it back to him.

This decided, Jaehn took the Promise and tucked it under one arm. In the blink of an eye, he was carrying a simple wooden platter, and shortly after that the Follies were on their way to Pub.