Swashbuckling in Freeport

[Morrow]

History of the Wanting Thief
Presenting Tavaari Naaldren

Not so long ago, Empress Gabriella of Thonia gave birth to a son. It was a joyous event and was a great relief, as Emperor Alexus was in poor health. When the Emperor and Empress finally had their child, it was a beautiful male child. Bald as the lake is smooth, and slender, without the usual large wrinkles of baby fat that usually accompanies a child.

This portended a frail heir. With all these lesser traits, no one could deny the intense-blue gaze of this young child. He could hold you in his gaze for days it seemed. Everyone loved their new heir.

He had a different name back then, as he was also very different from the other children in the Empire. The Prince was slow to mature compared to the other children his age. At age 10, he was about the size of a 5 year old. But this was not to be his biggest problem to face him.

At age 10, his father took him to the most wisest wizard in the area. Here he met with Demetrion, the Befuddled. He had a strange way of going about doing things, but he was straight forward and didn’t beat around the bush when it came to observations. Demetrion is of medium build, medium height, non-descript old man with a long white beard, a well-worn grey robe with a wizard’s pointed hat that had a bunch of patches on it from what looks like a series of small burn marks and tears. His hat almost looks like it was… pouting. No one knows really how old Demetrion really is… he’s just been around for as long as memory serves.

The Emperor asked, “Mighty Demetrion.”

And the wizard answered, “Who? Where’s he?”

“You are the mighty Demetrion!”

“Oh, me? Well, why, Yes! I am! Now who are you to disturb me on this wonderful day?” Demetrion queried.

“I am the Emperor!”

“Well, you don’t look like one…” Demetrion stated under his breath. At this point the Emperor started to look quite indignant. Demetrion hurriedly added, “Why Yes! You are! What can I do for you today young Emperor?” The Emperor has always been described as a well-chiseled, handsome Emperor with long-dark brown hair, a square jaw, and about as tall as the tall shoulders of his prized Clydesdales. But the years have been unkind to him from his endless drinking and the many beds he has been in. The Emperor now has long streaks of grey and a hunch to his shoulders with a raspy cough.

The Emperor said, “Wise Demetrion…”

“Who?”

At this point the Emperor growled and kept his question going, hoping it should keep the wizard thinking straight for a moment. “My boy seems to have something wrong with him. He’s quite under-developed for his age, as well as he’s awfully slender. Can you help me with what ails him?”

Demetrion started to laugh. The Emperor was very put off by this! He demanded, “What are you laughing about old man?”

Demetrion came back with, “Why, I’m laughing at you! This is not your son!” The Emperor was dumbfounded for a moment.

After the wizard calmed down from his laughing, the Emperor then asked, “What are you talking about? Of course he’s my son! He was born to me from my wife, the Emperess! One thing led to another and then my son was born! How could he not be my son?!?”

The wizard gave him a straight stare. The Emperor caught the wizard’s eyes, and knew how lucid the wizard really was. The wizard calmly explained to the Emperor, “My dear Emperor… what you have brought me is the ‘boy’ that your wife bared and gave birth to. Look at his size. Look at how his ears are starting to point. Now tell me, o’ fruitful Emperor o’ mine, how many other children have you born from your extra-castle affairs? Hmmm? None?”

The Emperor standing there speechless, let alone the young prince who was very smart for his age, stared up at what he thought was his father, not sure what to make of this conversation. The wizard continues, “You are barren young Emperor. You have no fruit to bear. You need to ask your precious wife what, or whom she was doing 10 years ago when the Elder Prince Ambassador signed the Peace Accord between the Empire and the Kingdom of Alfheim. Then you will know what is ‘wrong’ with your son. Sorry you had to hear it this way kid, but he asked.”

The Emperor left the wizard’s tower, hurriedly tossed the young prince into the carriage, and sped off towards the castle. The Emperor staring ahead without looking to either side, like a man in a trance. No bump or plea for information from the Prince would the Emperor respond to.

Empress Gabriella was in her buttermilk bath when Emperor Alexus came in with the young Prince in tow. Rasping and coughing badly, the only word the Emperor could get out between agonizing gasps, was, “Out!” rasp “OUT! (rasp) Out onto the streets with ya! NO! Don’t clothe her! Throw her out of the castle bare and open to all as the whore she really is! You want to sleep with an Elf! Go live with them now! Into the gutters with ya!”

With this proclamation, the royal guard took the Queen out of her bath, naked and screaming that she’s innocent, out of the room towards the castle gate. The other guards looked questioning at the Emperor, as if to say, “What about the kid?” Emperor Alexus seeing this, said “’im too!” Stoically, the young Prince walked calmly out of the room, never looking back at the Emperor, with only a tear in his eye, portraying the only emotion the Emperor had ever seen from the young Prince…

The young prince wandered for some time and had many adventures before he eventually arrived in the territory of the Lindenelm Clan, an elven clan living on the northern border of the Empire. The small clan maintains it's independence by playing it's fealty to the Kingdom of Alfheim off against the mutual defense agreements it has made with the Empire of Thonia. The clan heads, Sovellis and Kavva Lindenelm showed the young Prince-in-Exile much kindness.

He learned the ways of the elves as well as their language and deft movements with the dexterity of his full Elvin kin. Already a marksman with the bow, and experienced with the use of his scimitar, he decided to become a little thorn in the side of his old “father”, the Emperor.

He became known to the elves as Tavaari, meaning Patient One. He took the surname of the local village teacher of Naaldren, meaning Shadow Waiter. Tavaari liked the combination of names. He thought it served well his new purpose in life. Just before he left his settlement, he was already a well-honed, rock-steady fighter, but he wanted more. He knew he had to become more to be that thorn he wanted to be.

At the time of his leaving, his teacher in the arts of which he was trained in, handed him a wonderful piece of Elvin craftsmanship. It was a jeweled dagger made of the finest Mithril with Elvin inscriptions meaning “Life Quest”. They hoped that he would find it useful with what he had in mind.

Off to the streets of the city to study the Empire and find out it’s weaknesses to get back at his “father”. Oh, yes. He would get back at his “Emperor”.

However, Tavarii’s anger was not to be easily satisfied. In the decades he had been growing into a man, hidden away in the forest, much had changed in the Empire. Emperor Alexus had died, and the Imperial line had passed to his younger brother, and subsequently down that line until reaching the current Emperor Stefanius. Stefanius had been a good ruler by Thonian standards. He is no more corrupt or decadent than anyone else among the Empires ruling class. He is an able military leader and is expected to be quite successful in the approaching conflict with the Atlantian Empire. His son and heir, Justinian, is more of a problem. It is largely agreed that he is a worthless cretin with neither the interest nor the ability to run an Empire.

Tavarii, unsure of his path, wandered throughout the Empire and beyond. Eventually he found himself in Freeport. And that is where things really became interesting…

 

[Morrow]

Session 5 - Death in Freeport - Boring Investigation

Our heroes began their investigations at Lucius’ home, a quiet little cottage in Drac’s End. Any illusions they may have harbored about the affluent life of a librarian were soon shattered. Lucius’ cluttered little home revealed the life of a man whose love of books and knowledge clearly eclipsed any interest in comfort or reward.

The party showed their respect for Lucius’ life choices by tearing the place apart. Their efforts were rewarded as they discovered several items of interest:

Lucius had been studying dockmaster’s records of ships entering and leaving port.

He wanted to speak to someone named Captain Scarbelly.

He intended to purchase some turnips.

For reasons perhaps only clear to Zhenkeef, godess of madness, Lucius’ taste for root vegetables took on incredible importance. Tavarii was immediately dispatched to visit local marketplaces and investigate the importance of turnips.

Nate had heard of Scarbelly, a brutal and successful orc pirate who commanded the ship Bloody Vengeance. Clearly someone like Scarbelly would be a likely confidante for a lowly librarian. That lead could wait.

The trio, having divested themselves of the member of the party most likely to have skills useful to investigation, made their way to the Temple of Tinel. The temple, one of the largest in Freeport, was located not far from the Temple of Harrimast. The massive buildings status as a library was clearly incidental to its primary role as a library and center of learning. It mostly consisted of a single massive hall stretching a hundreds of feet into the air, with stairway after stairway crisscrossing over one another to reach balconies packed with bookshelves. The ground floor was filled with rows of tables and desks where scholars from all of the world worked, assisted by the temple’s clerics and librarians.

Nate and Sully, assisted by an acolyte named Norton, examined dockmaster’s records, both from the last several months and from the period surrounding Lucius’ first disappearance. Not knowing what they were looking for, they turned up little. However, they did discover that the Bloody Vengeance was currently in port, as it had been when Lucius first disappeared several years before.

Bronson, posing as a visiting cleric and scholar sought an audience with Thuron, the High Priest. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get past the High Priest’s assistant, an arrogant little twerp named Milos. Bronson explained that he and Lucius had kept up an extremely useful correspondence, and now that he was in Freeport he wished to find the librarian. Milos opined that Lucius was had simply gone on a drinking binge and was sleeping it off somewhere. He offered that he never would have allowed Lucius to return to his job and certainly didn’t have the resources to track down every wayward librarian. Bronson thanked Milos and left to rejoin his companions.

Their next stop was the docks, where they quickly found the Bloody Vengeance. Oddly, it appeared that the crew had stayed on the ship since it’s arrival in port, and had warned away anyone who came too close. The trio found a tavern, the Broken Mug, with a clear view of the Bloody Vengeance and sat down to plot their next move.

Coming Soon: "Hello, Sailor," and our most swashbuckling battle yet!

 

[Morrow]

Ha! We're Back!

Hallelujah! Internet connection has returned.

The long awaited next updated is coming soon. In the meantime, head over to Behind the Scenes or Freeport Opera House Plot Suggestions to help me plot the next fiendish development in the campaign.

Morrow

 

[Morrow]

Sessions 5 and 6 - Death in Freeport

The trio was still arguing over how to sneak on board the Bloody Vengeance when Scarbelly walked through the front door of the Broken Mug. Bronson and Nate stared, momentarily stunned by their good fortune. Sully immediately went to work.

By the time Bronson and Nate had picked their jaws up off the table Sully was perched on Scarbelly’s knee, whispering in his ear. The old orc threw back his head and laughed, his great scarred gut shaking. He wrapped one hand around Sully’s waist and hefted his tankard of ale with the other.

An hour later the trio left the Broken Mug. Sully sadly reported that she had been unable to convince Scarbelly to take her back to the Bloody Vengeance. He would give no reason for guarding the ship so closely. He was eager to spend the rest of the night with Sully, but not aboard his ship.

Sully had learned that Lucius had left Freeport aboard the Bloody Vengeance when he disappeared years before. He paid well to be allowed to travel with an observe the orcish pirates. Eventually he had left the orcs at some foreign port. Scarbelly had not seen the librarian again until a week ago when he came around asking questions about his time aboard the Bloody Vengeance, as if he hadn’t been there.

The trio had a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast at the Scholar’s Quill. When they left the quiet inn Tavarii still had not returned. The three friends had only walked a few blocks when they heard the distinctive clack of crossbows firing. None of them were badly hurt, and they drew their weapons as mercenaries carrying yellow shields appeared from alleyways in front and behind them. A pair of crossbowmen appeared on the rooftops above. The street was suddenly clear as doors and windows slammed shut and bystanders cut down alleys to get out of sight.

One of the mercenaries proved to be a sorcerer, and a wave of fire washed over the trio. Sully immediately charged, cutting down the sorcerer in a single blow and badly wounding his fellow on the return stroke. Bronson and Nate leapt into action against the other mercenaries, rapier and spear landing telling blows upon their foes.

The mercenaries fought furiously, and trio suffered several more volleys of crossbowfire, but the final foe within reach fell when Nate incapacitated the mercenary captain with Tasha’s Hideous Laughter and then ran him through.

Nate and Sully, thinking quickly ran to a two wheeled cart resting near the wall of one of the buildings housing a crossbowman. This took them out of the snipers line of fire and left Bronson to suffer under another volley. Sully balanced on the opposite end while Nate leapt into the back of the cart. At precisely the right moment Sully leapt, aided by the cart levering her into the air. She landed perfectly on the edge of the roof. Her falchion flashed and the mercenary fell.

A bolt whistled by Sully’s ear as the mercenary on the neighboring roof fired at her. Sully spun, ran for the edge of the roof and easily cleared the distance between the two buildings. The final mercenary did not even have time to draw his sword before his head left his shoulders.

The trio dragged the bodies of their foes into a nearby alley. They found that the mercenary captain still clung to life. Bronson revived him and they quickly and efficiently interrogated him. The mercenary company, known as the Yellow Shields had been hired by a man named Enzo to kill the party. The captain, named Rittoro, was to meet Enzo at a tavern called the Black Gull at noon to receive payment for the job.

Promptly at noon Nate, Bronson, and Sully, all carrying Yellow Shields took up position at a table in the back of the Black Gull, a rather seedy dive near the docks. Precisely on schedule Enzo arrived. The thin, nervous little man stood out clearly amongst the Gull’s hard bitten clientele. He headed straight toward the party’s table. He got half way across the room before he stopped, and carefully examined their faces. They watched despair and panic play across his features in the split second before Enzo ran.

He got maybe ten feet from the Gull’s front door before Sully grabbed him and dragged him into the shadows of a nearby building. Once more the three went to work. Enzo was an easier target than the nearly dead Rittoro before him. He nearly soiled himself as Bronson explained how they were going to kill him and animate his corpse. He quickly revealed that he was a simple tailor working as a messenger for the Brotherhood. He had apparently been recruited after visiting local curio shops and booksellers looking for “magic secrets.” The Master had instructed Enzo to recruit the Yellow Shields to slay the party. Enzo did not know what the party had done to warrant death, merely that the Brotherhood was very powerful and to anger the Master could only mean their deaths.

The party also learned that recently Enzo had been making regular deliveries of food and supplies to an abandoned house in the Merchant’s District. At the group’s direction, Enzo lead them to the house. They took some time to examine the structure from hiding and formulate a plan. They intimidated Enzo into making another delivery of food, this one including a hidden message for Lucius, who they presumed to be a prisoner.

Several hours later, when Enzo had not returned, they found a local street urchin and hired him to knock at the door. The young man found the door open and after being paid, scampered off carrying more money than he had ever had in his life.

Nate, Sully, and Bronson entered the dwelling to find it empty. They soon found a trapdoor granting access to a wine cellar, and a secret door hidden in a massive wine barrel. They slipped through the door and down another set of stairs. The trio creeped down the passageway at the bottom of the stairs and approached a door at the end of the corridor. Bronson gave a cry of alarm has a trapdoor opened before the door. Sully was able to leap aside, but Nate fell down into the darkness. The door opened and five scaled humanoid creatures with the heads of snakes charged out and attacked Sully and Bronson with spears.

The battle was fierce and Bronson soon fell to a well placed thrust. Sully fought bravely while Nate tried in vain to escape the pit where he found himself. Sully was able to overcome her foes, but only after taking grievous wounds. She helped Nate climb from the pit and he quickly moved to Bronson’s side, healing him moments before the courageous cleric would have succumbed to his wounds. The party judged themselves in no shape to continue and withdrew to rest and heal.

The next morning the party, now rejoined by Tavarii and fully healed, returned to the bricked-up house. The their roguish companion taking point the group proceeded cautiously, searching for traps and wary of another ambush. Continuing their explorations they found a darkened treasury guarded by several skeletal warriors and some kind of initiation chamber guarded by a ghoul. They left both guardians locked in their respective rooms and proceeded toward the end of the compex, where they found massive double doors which they guessed hid some fell temple.

Nate’s Detect Thoughts spell revealed that their foes were well aware of their presence and unlikely to fall for any ruse. Abandoning all plans of subterfuge, the trio charged into the temple. They found a large room, it’s ceilings held up by massive pillars carved like coiled snakes and it’s walls covered with disturbing tapestries. Behind the altar, standing before a monstrous sculpture was a black robed figure. He pulled back his hood to reveal the face of Milos! A pair of warriors stepped from behind the pillars and fired crossbows at the party.

Battle was joined, and it only became more chaotic when several more serpent creatures sprang from a hidden door and charged. Sully’s blade flashed, felling foes left and right. Nate’s blade danced as he sang, only pausing to call down a series of spells upon his foes, causing several to fall asleep in the middle of the battle. Tavarii took cover behind the pillar and traded shots with the crossbowmen. He attempted with little success to light his bolts from one of the torches lighting the temple. Bronson cast spells, causing a flail composed of magic force to hammer away at Milos, and sending negative energy coursing through his foes with a touch.

Sully, unable to reach Milos directly, grabbed a rope supporting a massive chandelier above their heads. She cut the rope and attempted to swing above the battle as the chandelier fell onto her foes. Unfortunately she lost her grip and fell amidst the wreckage. This failure did not slow the group for long. They soon cut down their foes and advanced on Milos, quickly brining low the treacherous cleric.

“By the Yellow Sign, we will rule!” gasped Milos as he slid to the floor, leaving a trail of blood along the wall behind him. As he died his features twisted and changed, revealing another serpent creature with scaly skin and a forked tongue.

 

[Morrow]

Session 6, 7, and 8 - Terror in Freeport

A quick search of the temple revealed Enzo’s corpse, and Lucius, exhausted and wounded, but alive. The mild librarian was thankful to be rescued and nearly brought to tears when the party revealed that Brother Egil had send them.

They returned to the treasure room and Bronson quickly brought it’s skeletal guardians under his control. Tavarii opened several chests to reveal considerable wealth in coins, jewels, and magical objects. They also found a library filled with disturbing volumes about the Unspeakable One, the otherworldly entity that the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign venerates. They left the skeletons to guard the haul and returned Lucius to the temple of Tinel.

Over the next several days the party rented a storage space in the Warehouse district and a cart to transport treasure, skeletons, and books. They divided the treasure and sold much of it to Falthar’s Curious. The diviner Falthar once more proved invaluable, identifying the magical treasure they had recovered from the Brotherhood.

The party arranged to donate the disturbing volumes they had found in the hidden temple to the temple of Tinel and Bronson was able to use the donation to secure an audience with Thuron, the High Priest of the temple. Bronson surreptitiously used a detect evil divination on the aged cleric, who seemed not at all fooled by Bronson’s efforts to hide what he was doing. Thuron was not offended, and in fact seemed pleased by the party’s efforts to discern if the Brotherhood had infiltrated his temple any further. He freely admitted that it was the donation of the collection gathered on his travels that had convinced him to readmit Lucius to the temple.

Lucius’ collection, much like the one donated by the party contained some volumes too dangerous to be added to the general collection, and would be part of the temples restricted archives. Much of Lucius’ collection was currently being examined by a wizard named Marcus Vale, who the temple occasionally hired to catalogue arcane texts outside their areas of expertise. Vale was employed as a teacher at the Freeport Institute and was a regular visitor to the temple library.

Bronson reported what he had learned to the party. Nate was particularly intrigued by the news, revealing that his father’s first mate had been a wizard named Marcus Vale. However, he believed that the entire crew of his father’s ship, the Coup de Grace, had been hanged for piracy. Nate chose not to seek out Vale for the time being, wanting to gather more information before confronting him.

At Bronson’s request the party went to the Freeport Opera and gained an audience with the Opera’s artistic director, an aged gnome named Gorsky Glitterlights. Bronson had heard that the Opera was haunted and mysterious occurrences and deaths occurred whenever they performed The Tragedy of Daimhin and Fynballa, an opera that was written for the company’s first season, a hundred years ago. Gorsky admitted that he intended to open the Opera’s centennial season with Daimhin and Fynballa and admitted that he was concerned. He had already hired a pair of clerics from the temple of Mormekar to investigate, but they had found nothing.

Gorsky agreed to pay the party 750 pieces of gold if they could locate and neutralize the ghost before the opera season began in a month.

The party explored the building thoroughly, using divinations to look for traces of magic or the undead. They found little of interest. Even Tavarii’s late night break into to the opera house revealed nothing out of the ordinary. The party guessed that whatever haunted the opera house would only reveal itself when Daimhin and Fynballa was performed before an audience. They vowed to return in a month.

Shortly after the completion of their investigations at the Freeport Opera, Brother Egil approached the party once more. Someone had ransacked Lucius’ home and Egil was worried that the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign was still active. The party negotiated with Egil and Thuron, agreeing to continue their investigations in return for the temple’s promise to provide magic and information.

The party’s first step was to go to the Marquis Moon, an inn in the old city where Milos kept rooms under the name of Devlin. They quickly intimidated the owner’s son into allowing them to search Devlin’s rooms. All incriminating evidence seemed to have been removed from the cluttered rooms before their arrival. The only real clue they found was a book, An Accounte of Metalls Base and Pure which had fallen behind some bookshelves. Sketched onto the back page was a drawing of a lighthouse covered with arcane mathematical formula. They also found a reoccurring doodle in the margins, a V superimposed over a circle.

The party guessed that the Cult was up to no good at the new Freeport Lighthouse which was scheduled for completion soon. Tavarii, with his extensive knowledge of Freeport society identified the doodle as the symbol of Counselor Verlaine, head of the Captain’s Council, governing body of the city. Verlaine was Sea Lord Drac’s right hand man, having to risen to power at about the same time as Drac and having become quite rich investing in the Sea Lord’s projects, including the lighthouse.

Next the group returned to the abandoned house, only to discover members of Verlaine’s guard. The guardsman reported that the house was sealed by order of the Captain’s Council and the hidden temple was being investigated.

The party left, but soon approached the house from the back. They sent one of Bronson’s skeletal minions to attack the guards out front. The sound of the battle was sufficient to cover the noise as they forced their way through a boarded up window at the back of the house.

The group headed down into the temple and discovered a female Yellow Sign cultist and four serpent people hard at work. They made short work of the serpent people and quickly disabled the cultist. Bronson revealed that he had prepared an elixir of truth for just such an occasion. He forced the potent elixir down the cultists throat. Once the magic took hold and she was forced to tell the truth, the party wrung out all she knew of the Brotherhood’s plot.

The cultists, named Batora, revealed that the light house was being built to attract the attention of the slumbering or imprisoned Unspeakable One and direct it’s attention to Freeport, an event which would cause great destruction and madness. Batora revealed that a new hidden temple had been built beneath the house of Councilor Verlaine. Although the councilor was clearly corrupt, Batora doubted that he knew of the Brotherhood’s plans.

Further exploration of the temple revealed that the altar and statue had been removed, and that Batora had been removing cases of bricks with the Yellow Sign stamped into the centers. The party left the temple, turned their prisoner over to the Temple of Tinel, and returned to the Scholar’s Quill.

The following day the party went to the Office of Public Records. There they met Reed, a gruff former ships cook responsible for the Office and learned more about Verlaine’s shady business dealings. Reed revealed that men he believed to be Verlaine’s agents had come to the Office recently and examined maps of the sewers beneath the city.

When the group left the Office of Public Records they were confronted by several of the Sea Lord’s Guard, sent to arrest them for attacking Verlaine’s guard and entering the hidden temple. The party was prepared to fight, but at that moment Brother Egil appeared. He had a document from a member of the Captain’s Council making the party the responsibility of the Temple of Tinel. The guardsman quickly withdrew. However, Bronson recognized that something was wrong. This Egil didn’t look quite right, he was a little too short and the line of his jaw was wrong. And there was something about his eyes. He attacked, and with his companion’s assistance subdued the false Egil.

The false Egil, quickly revealed as a cultist named Nikko revealed that he had been sent to lead the party into a trap in the sewers. While the party did not have another elixir of truth, Nikko had little defense against Nate’s detect thoughts spell. The part soon decided that there was little to learn from the cultist and killed him.

With the information gained form Nikko and Batora, the party entered the sewers to search out the hidden temple beneath Verlaine’s house. They soon ran afoul of an Otyugh, a great tentacled beast that subsists on refuse. The creature grappled Sully, and seemed largely unharmed by Tavarii’s handcrossbow bolts. The battle was particularly difficult as each member of the group in turn slipped and fell into the foul muck flowing through the sewer. However the combination of Bronson’s Spiritual Weapon and Sully’s blade eventually finished off the beast.

Still following Nikko and Batora’s directions, the group bypassed a formidable crushing trap left for them by the cultists and entered the hidden temple. They found the temple abandoned, except for the real Egil, bound to the relocated altar beneath the gaze of the grim statue removed from the other temple.

Egil was soon convinced that the party were really his friends and not cultists in disguise. He explained that the cultists intended to brand him with the Yellow Sign, and before they left him said that after tonight, neither the Temple of Tinel nor the party would interfere in their work again.

Tavarii found a secret tunnel, presumably leading to Verlaine’s house, and a secret compartment containing a document written in the serpent’s foul tongue. The party chose not to enter Verlaine’s home, instead leaving via the sewers. Egil was frightened for the temple and stated his intention to go there immediately.

 

[Morrow]

Session 9 - Terror and Madness in Freeport

Tavaari's player couldn't make it, so I sent him the following synopsis:

When we began the session the party had just located the hidden temple of the Unspeakable One in the sewers beneath the home of Chief Counselor Verlaine. They had rescued Brother Egil and left the temple through the sewers.

Before they had left him the cultists had promised Brother Egil that after tonight neither the party nor the followers of Tinel would ever interfere again. Egil asked the party to accompany him back to the Temple of Tinel, but they decided to go to the lighthouse instead, so the cleric went back alone.

The party collected Bronson’s undead minions and then used Nate’s magical feather token to create a boat to transport them to the lighthouse. The harbor was patrolled by several boats packed with the Sea Lord’s guard, but the darkness, foul weather, and an excellent Profession (sailor) roll got the party to the lighthouse unseen.

The party found the lighthouse locked but unguarded. Tavaari easily bypassed the lock and the party quickly explored the lighthouse. The first two floors were entirely abandoned, but on the third the party encountered the towers single guardian, a Gibbering Mouther. The amorphous mass of eyes, mouths, and flesh oozed out of the darkness and the battle was joined. The creature nearly proved the group’s undoing. It’s gibbering, babbling call confused Nate and its acidic spittle nearly blinded Bronson. Things looked grim when the creature engulfed Nate, but the party slowly wore it down in spite of it’s resistance to blows.

After the creature was overcome the party explored the rest of the tower. The room at the top of the lighthouse was carved with numerous arcane sigils that the party was unable to identify. It contained a tall pillar, apparently intended to hold something at the level of the windows at the top of the lighthouse.

Unable to find anything more the party returned to the Temple of Tinel. Throughout their journey Nate brainstormed ideas for destroying the lighthouse, but it quickly became clear that the party simply didn’t have the resources to tear it down.

Upon reaching the Temple of Tinel the party found the doors open wide and heard the sounds of battle within. Cultists of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign had apparently entered the temple disguised as clerics of Tinel and proceeded to kill everyone they could find. The library was scatted with corpses, including the body of Brother Egil. The party saw a group of clerics, including Thuron and Norton, withdrawing before the onslaught of a group of cultists.

The party sprang into action. Tavaari advanced and shot down a pair of cultists before they noticed they noticed him. Nate cut loose a rope supporting a chandelier and rode it to a balcony overlooking the library while the chandelier crashed to the floor. There he engaged a female warrior who had been shooting the clerics below with her crossbow. Sully, Bronson, and his minions engaged the cultists on the ground floor. Sully leapt over tables and ran along the tops of bookshelves to reach her enemies. Tavaari flanked his foes and took them down with carefully placed dagger thrusts. Bronson used his wand to animate several fallen cultists as zombies to attack their former allies. More cultists arrived from other parts of the temple, but the party fought valiantly. When the ground floor was cleared Sully leapt from table to bookcase to balcony to help Nate against his foe. Bronson, Tavaari, and the undead swarmed over the final cultist. While she was able to rebuke one of Bronson’s zombies, the rest quickly closed in and tore her to pieces.

When the battle was over Thuron explained that the cultists had apparently murdered nearly a dozen clerics, librarians, and scribes and used magic to disguise themselves as their victims and enter the temple. Only a half dozen of the clerics of Tinel survived their attack. Without Brother Egil’s warning and the party’s timely intervention, all would have been lost. Thuron insisted that the party stay at the temple that night. They eagerly accepted when Norton was instructed to take them to the temple baths.

Later that night, Thuron took the party to the crypts beneath the temple and made a shocking confession. He is in fact K’Stallo, a serpent man and the last Cleric of Yig. (The party remembered learning that the followers of Yig had ruled Valossa, the ancient empire of the serpent folk, until it was destroyed by the Unspeakable One thousands of years ago.) K’Stallo explained that a few of Yig’s followers had survived the cataclysm that destroyed Valossa with their sanity intact. He had been born in a small farming village far to the north across the sea where descendents of those followers of Yig still lived. During his wanderings Lucius had found that village. K’Stallo realized that Lucius had collected information about the history of Valossa and the worship of Yig long thought lost. So when Lucius left the village, K’Stallo followed him. Those journeys eventually brought him to Freeport.

One fateful night K’Stallo slipped into the Temple of Tinel in hopes of examining the books and scrolls that Lucius had brought back from his wanderings. He happened up Thuron, dead at his desk. The old man’s heart had apparently given out in the night. In that moment, blinded by greed for knowledge of his people’s history, K’Stallo chose to take on Thuron’s form and stay in the temple.

For over a year K’Stallo has acted the part of Thuron, high priest of the temple. He should have spotted Milos immediately, but was too wrapped up in his own studies. K’Stallo begged the party to help him defeat the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. He promised that if Freeport could be saved, he would contact the nearest Temple of Tinel on the mainland to send a new high priest and “Thuron” would disappear.

The party was initially quite mistrustful. In fact Nate almost struck down K’Stallo before he could tell his story. However, eventually they decided that what K’Stallo had told them matched what they already knew and he seemed to be telling the truth.

K’Stallo revealed that in three days there was to be a grand ball celebrating the new lighthouse and two days after that it would be lit. He explained that he had an idea how to strike back against the Brotherhood, but needed three days to complete his research.

During the following three days the party divided the treasure gained from the cultists and did some shopping. Bronson used magic to decipher the document Tavaari had found in the hidden temple. It was an announcement stating that the party had been hired by Councilor Verlaine to infiltrate the Temple of Tinel, which was actually a front for the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. The party had double crossed and murdered Verlaine and then they died in the process of wiping out the Brotherhood. Most disturbing of all, the document was signed by Sea Lord Milton Drac and marked with the Yellow Sign.

The party soon learned that Verlaine had indeed been murdered, but with both the party and the clerics of Tinel still alive, the story that circulated was quite different. The party became known as heroes who had uncovered Verlaine’s treachery, defeated the Brotherhood, and saved the city. Councilor Verlaine’s name was ordered stricken from the rolls of the Captain’s Council and all of his lands and goods were seized. The party soon received an invitation to the grand ball, where they were to be guests of honor and recognized as heroes of the city.

The party decided to attend the ball. They went to the Sharp Needle, a shop on the Street of Dreams in the Old City. There Alcindar, a dwarven tailor, produced appropriate clothing to their specifications in record time. Sully was particularly pleased with her pink ball gown.

At the ball the party was honored for their heroism. They came face to face with Sea Lord Milton Drac for the first time when he presented them with the Order of Drac, an award named after his ancestor, the founder of Freeport. Drac made a speech about the heroes’ brave deeds and the wonder of the lighthouse, “Soon all the world will speak of the greatness of Freeport. As a flowing beacon, the lighthouse shall shine forth to all peoples, proclaiming the unspeakable power of our glorious city.”

The party enjoyed their newfound fame and recognition. Bronson danced with many young ladies who were so taken with his charisma they hardly noticed that he kept stepping on their toes. Most notably, be shared several dances with Margaret Roth, the beautiful dark haired daughter of Torsten Roth, head of the Guild of Merchants.

Nate spoke to “Thuron” and agreed to meet him after the ball. K’Stallo introduced him to Inquisitor Hess, the ancient head of the tiny church of Maal, god of justice and judge of the dead. The old crusader was very supportive of the party’s efforts, “On behalf of law and justice in Freeport.” Hearing the party’s adventures described in such a way may have made Nate reconsider his outlook on life for a split second, but probably not.

Sully danced with Sea Lord Drac, who assured her that after the lighthouse was lit, “Freeport would never be the same again.” She also met Nifur Roberts, the lovely blonde daughter of Captain Marcus Roberts of the Captain’s Council. Apparently Nifur was the de facto head of a group of young ladies of quality who were feeling somewhat stifled in their societal role. Apparently up to this point, their acts of rebellion had been restricted to disguising themselves and going to get drunk in a rough part of town. However, Nifur was clearly inspired by Sully and interested in learning some of her martial skills. On the spot Sully tried to teach a lesson in one of her other favorite skills, manipulating men. Nifur was clearly impressed, but the lesson may have lost some of its impact when Nate arrived and began flirting shamelessly with the young lady.

K’Stallo introduced Nate, Sully, and Bronson to several members of the faction who opposed Drac on the Captain’s Council: Lady Elise Grossette, Sister Gwendolyn of the church of Shalimyr, and Dirwin Arnig of the Jewelers and Gem Cutters Guild. They also met Petra Fricke, a noted sculptor who was Lady Grossette’s pick to replace Verlaine on the Council. The party was concerned about being seen together, so Sister Gwendolyn agreed to meet with them later at the Temple of Tinel.

The party also met Captain Lydon, who they had saved from an assassination attempt before they met Tavaari. The boisterous, uncouth captain was still angling for a place on the Council.

Sully collected a number of admirers during the evening. Perhaps most prominent among them is Buster Wallace, eldest son and heir to Captain Brock Wallace. Brock Wallace is a member of the Captain’s Council and a strong supporter of Sea Lord Drac. His son, however, seems like a very nice young man, and seemed quite taken with Sully. Besides, he’s rich, handsome, and has all his teeth.

As they were leaving, the party spotted Tavaari, who they had lost track of for most of the evening. He was having a wonderful time with Morgan Erendyl, the elven member of the rival adventuring party that the group met the same day that Tavaari joined them. While there had been some friction between the two groups, Tavaari and Morgan hit it off immediately. Morgan’s group, following their encounter with the party had been hired by a wizard from the Freeport Institute. They traveled to Windward, the island to the west of Freeport and journeyed to the interior in search of an ancient settlement there. They found the settlement and, after battling trolls and other creatures, returned to Freeport with the enchanted cloak that they had been sent to find.

Morgan Erendyl is from the same clan as Prince-Ambassador Lorrim Erendyl, the elven ambassador who negotiated a treat between the Empire of Thonia and the elven Kingdom of Alfheim more than twenty years ago. While not related to Lorrim, Morgan was able to confirm that the prince had been living in Alfheim the last time he had been home, nearly five years ago.

Nate, Sully, and Bronson left Tavaari at the ball and met with Sister Gwendolyn at the Temple of Tinel. Gwendolyn reported that the upper levels of the lighthouse had been closed off for the last two weeks. While initially the lighthouse had produced a lot of work for local labors, the upper levels had been completed entirely by foreign laborers brought in exclusively for that purpose. Dirwin Arnig had discovered that Drac had commissioned the cutting of a large crystal that apparently had some magical potential, but had not used members of the Jewelers and Gem Cutters Guild for the work.

Nate expressed some frustration that the Captain’s Council had not done more to thwart Drac. Sister Gwendolyn explained that until the party had brought forward their accusations, the Council had no reason to suspect anything beyond the normal level of corruption that is to be expected in Freeport. Drac may be evil, and probably doesn’t have the best interests of Freeport at heart, but that doesn’t make him any different from many of his predecessors. Before the party began their investigations, there was no reason for anyone to suspect that he was a member of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign seeking to spread madness and destruction is a new one.

The party, lead by Nate, negotiate aggressively with Sister Gwendolyn. In the end she agreed that if the party could prove Drac’s guilt and thwart his plans they would be well rewarded. The Temple of Shalimyr would grant them land in the Temple District where Bronson could construct a temple of Aster. Sister Gwendolyn would also encourage the Council to grant them one of the ships that was taken when Chief Councilor Verlaine’s property was seized.

When Sister Gwendolyn had left, K’Stallo explained his plan. His divinations had revealed that they did not have the means to stop the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign from using the lighthouse to complete their plan. However, they had also pointed to the solution- the Jade Serpent of Yig. The serpent is an artifact, the physical manifestation of Yig’s power on the prime plane. The Serpent was lost when Valossa sank. However, in his studies K’Stallo believes that he has found its location.

Black Dog was a brutal Freeport pirate who died mysteriously over 50 years ago. K’Stallo has found a log apparently written by a member of Black Dog’s crew that described the location of Black Dog’s secret lair, where he hid his treasure. The log also describes a great jade door carved with snakes and bizarre symbols that the pirates were never able to pass. K’Stallo believes that the door is the entrance to the temple that housed the Jade Serpent.

The party immediately collected Tavaari and headed to the docks where K’Stallo had arranged for a boat. The boat sailed along the coast of the island all night while the group slept. They arrived at their destination, an hour after dawn. The tide was low, revealing a sea cave between two great outcroppings of rock. At high tide the entrance would be underwater. The crew lowered a rowboat and the party rowed toward the opening. Tomorrow night the lighthouse will be lit. The party must find the Jade Serpent and return to Freeport in time.

 

[Morrow]

Session 10 - Madness in Freeport - 10/11/2005 (Courtesy of Sully)

Yo, ho ho!​

When last we left Nate, the Entertaining Bard with Roguish Good Looks; Bronson, the Sensitive and Insightful Cleric of Aster; Tavaari, the Handsome and Mysterious Rogue; and Sully, the Tragically Beautiful, Dazzling, Charming Master of Swords, Men and Beasts (Is there really a difference?); Theron had revealed himself to be K’Stallo, a cleric of Yig from the North. He had entrusted our daring heroes to retrieve the jade serpent from the Temple of Yig with which to fight the followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Sister Gwendolyn had promised that if Sea Lord Drac and the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign were defeated, Bronson would be rewarded with land in the temple district on which to build a temple to Aster, Nate and Sully would be rewarded with a fine, sea-faring vessel from Drac’s seized fleet, and Tavaari would be rewarded too… I guess. (He didn’t really request anything, but I’m sure that Sister Gwendolyn will come up with something appropriate.)

K’Stallo arranged for a ship to transport the party to the Temple of Yig. The temple was accessible through a cavern that could only be entered at low-tide, me hearties! At low tide, our heroes piled into a small rowboat and shoved off. Meanwhile, Bronson’s minions walked below the water accompanying the boat.

Bronson used his superior sailing skills to pilot the boat into a wall. Nate and Bronson were cast overboard on impact, nearly sealing their fate and dooming them to watery graves, but they were able to stay afloat, and Sully moved swiftly to Bronson’s aid. As Sully attempted to free Bronson from the gloomy depths, she and Tavaari noticed four passages leading out of the caves and on the far side of the cavern, “Make-out Beach.” Sully was so distracted by the beach (even though it was not a good beach to tan on) that she failed to retrieve her trusted companion. Nate tried to swim for shore, but he was unable to make much progress and didn’t even notice the giant turtle in the water behind him. Fortunately, Sully and Tavaari did, and the latter wasted no time in attacking the beast with his might crossbow. Meanwhile, the turtle took his best shot at Nate, and it succeeded. Nate found himself badly injured and in the jaws of a beast he never saw coming. After pulling Bronson into the boat, Sully wasted no time in rowing the boat toward Nate. The creature saw the boat coming and dropped Nate, moving to attack the small vessel, giving Tavaari, Sully and Bronson and opportunity to take a shot at it. They used this opportunity to find vulnerabilities in the beast’s seemingly impenetrable shell. The monstrous turtle struck back at Sully and attempted to dive under the boat. This granted the party two boons. First, Sully’s fresh wound lit a fire in her belly to destroy the beast, and second, it gave the crew another opportunity the strike out at the monster. Although the water was reddened with the monster’s blood, the beast escaped into the morky depths.

The party gathered on the beach to regroup and decide what to do next. As Bronson gathered his minions, Nate, Sully and Tavaari took a look around. Make-out Beach turned out NOT to be a great place to make out OR tan, much to Sully’s disappointment. It was littered with skeletons. Tavaari spotted a saber handle poking out of the sand and quickly retrieved the sword. The blade gleamed in the light of Bronson’s sword. Immediately, a shadow appeared out of the cave wall. Tavaari pulled confidence from his new weapon and charged the shadow. Sully lost her concentration for a moment. Bronson noticed that the shadow was incorporeal and could not be hurt by non-magical weapons and decided not to have his cohorts attack the fiend. Nate did a little dance. Bronson rebuked the shadow, and it cowered against the cave wall, that scurvy dog! Tavaari and Sully cut the shadow down as Bronson’s minions gathered around, and Nate did another little dance. Go, Nate, go!

After dispensing the shadow, Nate and Tavaari took a moment to examine the saber. It emanated a magical aura, but the extent of the magic remained a mystery. Nate, Tavari and Sully shuffled weapons to make the party more effective. Then, they took a moment to consider their options. None of the outlets from the cave seemed remarkable in anyway, so Sully made a suggestion based on her experience with the Pirating Aptitude Test. She proposed that they choose the third outlet. Bronson supported their decision, and they were off.

Bronson tied her skeleton and zombies to the front of the boat and instructed them to pull it down the third tunnel. The water began to move more swiftly. The tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the rowboat would be lost, but her course stayed true, and the waters calmed near a boarded cavern entrance. It read, “DANGER! KEEP OUT!” Bronson and Sully took a moment to consider the warning, but Nate and Tavaari blatantly ignored it, and broke right through the boards.

After anchoring the boat, the party ventures inside. Beyond the entry lay an enormous ornate jade door. In the center of the door, there was a doorknob in the mouth of a serpent with an inscription in parseltongue below. Nobody was able to read the inscription, so Nate decided it would be a good idea to just open the door. As soon as he grasped the doorknob, he could feel the mouth of the serpent close on hand and lets go. Venom shot out of the serpent’s mouth, but Nate was able to dodge it. Bronson, Sully and Tavaari were unable to observe any of this, but Tavaari checked the door for traps anyway and found none. Bronson instructed one of her zombies to open the door, and he was able to do so without incident.

The door opened into a round room with a large statue of a serpent in the center and a ramp at the edge of the room descending down into a pool of water. Nate was able to transform himself into a locathah and swam down into the water.

Nate found himself in another round room with a statue at the center, and he could clearly see that the water did not continue down to the next level. Before returning to his friends, Nate noticed that the statue in this room was wearing a jade amulet, which he quickly took. As soon as he took the amulet, a serpent shadow appeared in the water with him. Showing a brief glimmer of wisdom, Nate swam up to join the others. The shadow followed right behind him. Bronson seized the opportunity and rebuked the shadow. Now cowering, the shadow was easily defeated by Tavaari, Nate and Sully.

The party ventured down two levels into another round room where they encountered another snakeman shadow who sat pointing at an altar. Nate decided to attack first and ask questions later, but the shadow begged for mercy. He explained that in life, he had been Alistair, a cleric of Yig, and that Yig had abandoned his people and set a curse upon the temple. Meanwhile, Nate went and sat at the top of the ramp with his head in the water so as not to waste his spell. Alistair asked for the party’s help in lifting the curse. To lift the curse, he needed help performing a ritual which required four artifacts: the amulet of the serpent, the scales of the serpent, the venom of the serpent, and the fangs of the serpent. He explained that once all artifacts were retrieved, and the ritual was performed, the jade serpent would rise out of the altar, and the un-souls of the Yig clerics would be set free. The scales of the serpent could be found on the next level down with the cleric Vrosh who had gone mad. The venom of the serpent could be found in the second level down, where the cleric of Yig, Seth, had been imprisoned. The fangs of the serpent were to be found on the lowest level in the pit of the great serpent.

The party ventured downward in search of the scales of the serpent. When they reached the next level, there were 3 doors, one to the left, one to the right, and one gaily forward. For lack of a more informed decision, the adventurers proceeded gaily forward, where they found what appeared to be a training room. The room was filled with racks of arms and armaments that had long since lost their awesomeness. At the center of the room stood a shadow serpent in shiny green scale mail, presumably Vrosh. “Prepare to fight for Yig!” he shouted, and Sully quickly answered his call. The party made short order of Vrosh, Bronson using his power over the undead, and the rest of the party using their swords to finish him off. Vrosh’s special armor seemed to do him no good at all, and the armor soon lay in the hands of the brave adventurers.

Tavaari checked the other two doors for traps, and they seemed safe, so the party decided to check out the other two rooms, but there wasn’t much of value in either of them, so they moved on.

On the next level, the group found 5 doors. A voice called out to the party from behind the center door. It was Sseth, who had been imprisoned there since Yig had abandoned the temple. Sseth explained how to remove the venom of the serpent from the serpent statue on that level. Sseth was a little… funny. Not funny haha, but funny hmmm… Our heroes contemplated releasing him but thought it would be better to just allow his soul to be freed when the curse was lifted.

Further exploration revealed an incubation room full of crushed eggs, but there was one intact, which the party decided to hang on to. They also found a jade serpent, but since it didn’t rise out of the altar of Yig, they pretty much figured it wasn’t THE jade serpent, so they stowed it and moved on. Yar!

The final level revealed two doors. One door was warped and magically sealed. It was beyond the skill of even Tavaari, so the party opted for the other door. Inside was a huge room, recessed in the center, and there, in the pit, was a HUGE serpent. After a hard-fought battle, the serpent was dispatched, and Sully cut the fangs from its jaw.

A secret door on the other side of the pit revealed a small chest. Tavaari was viciously attacked by a tiny shadow serpent, but did that stop our heroes? NAY! They quickly killed the shadow and discovered Allistar’s journal and some booty. It weren’t big booty, but ‘twas booty just the same. Booty is booty.

The brave and mighty crew raced up to Allistar’s level and quickly helped him to perform the ritual to free the souls of the priests of Yig. Always selfless, Bronson offered a blood sacrifice. As soon as the ritual was complete, the temple shook with terrible force as the jade serpent rose out of the altar.

Nate, Sully, Bronson and Tavaari barely escaped with their lives, but their gallantry unrivaled, they pushed through to the cave entrance and shoved off. Nate wanted to explore the other caves, but the others reminded him of the pressing matters in Freeport, and the crew made off for the larger ship to rest and make their return.

To be continued, me hearties!

 

[gernboken]

i found them. i'm gonna reread the entire thread so i can figure out what our plans for next session ought to be. i'm having so much fun reviewing our first few adventures. this is really cool, i gotta start writing more recaps for you.

 

[gernboken]

Nate became fairly friendly with the owners of the Chumhouse, a pair of dwarf brothers named Garen and Pulma Stonebrake. Although he is by no means a master, Nate is apparently still a step above the usual performers the Chumhouse attracts. The customers seem to particularly appreciate his broad repertoire of sea chanteys and lewd ballads.

HEY! Nate is TOTALLY a master. 8 ranks in perform baby! beat that ! yo-ho-ho!

 

[gernboken]

Brother Egil’s order swears a vow of poverty, so he can’t offer much. Lucky for him the group figures that the job will involve killing someone and taking there stuff, therefore paying for itself.

ha! too true!