the Jester's OLD story hour, UPDATED AT LAST!
the Jester
Legend
By the way, SeldomSeen, would you mine posting Krunkshank's character sheet for reference for folks? Either here or in the Rogues' Gallery thread I have going?
Thanks!
Update later today or this evening...
Thanks!
Update later today or this evening...
the Jester
Legend
At the Bottom of the Drain!
At last the heroes follow the sewers to the drain. It’s the only really large chamber they’ve seen, and the sluggishly-flowing effluvium slowly pours into it from several different tunnels. The center is a mass of nastiness. Debris, some of it surprisingly large, is squished up in a fetid mass. A few occasional bubbles and a slight sag in the center imply that it’s all draining somewhere, but very slowly. Various members of the party exchange glances. This could be an ugly journey.
“Well,” says Vito, “I don’t want to go down there.”
“Me neither,” says Captain Clambake. “Arr.”
“Nope.” “Not me.” “No way.”
The stench of the sewage is almost overpowering. “Maybe we can clear it,” Krunkshank suggests, and the group spends a couple of hours trying. The remove the largest pieces of debris, including a desk, of all things, and the rate of flow increases- but only slightly.
“Ah, crap,” says Horbin. “Maybe if we give it until tomorrow...”
The party returns to their traditional manhole cover and ascends the rickety rotten ladder, receiving their traditional greeting from disgusted townsfolk. They hurry to their traditional sea rinse, and while they're there they decide to harvest some of the fungus and see if it will eat the blockage. Then it's time for a bath, meal and drink. As usual, Clambake doesn’t seem to eat much, sticking to the bottle. Horbin sends Till to clean his things, a task the altar boy looks at with distaste, but his adoration for the adventuring cleric overcomes the stinkiness of his assigned duty.
The next day the group descends again, with Horbin leaving Till above as he did the previous day. They return to the drain chamber and find it less clogged but still clogged nonetheless. They throw a bunch of the harbor fungus on it and then decide to try to find out where the sewage is entering the sea. The only drains they find are too small to fit through, but they decide to check above for another, less disgusting entrance. This search leads them to a small freehold farm just east of Poppin. After talking to the farmer, the party decides to check out his well. A couple of water breathing spells later, we were down the well and in an undergound lake with a nasty slug of sewage ascending some 30’, no doubt to the sewers. The fungus that is infesting the harbor is present, floating atop the tainted water. The group submerges to try to wash as much of the poop off in the lake’s relative cleanliness, and then Krunkshank spots a submerged creature swimming slowly and quietly away from them, but it exits the range of his darkvision before he can tell exactly where it’s going.
The rest of the group follows Krunkshank after it, variously water walking, spider climbing and swimming. The group moves cautiously, and in about two hundred yards they find themselves facing a village of small huts that look fashioned out of gigantic mushroom pieces. Droidi slips the ring of the orc on to disguise his freakish appearance as they get close. Standing before the huts is a group of over a dozen hulking goblinoid shapes. “RRR!” the lead one snarls, and in poorly-enunciated Forinthian says, “Who you? Why you come?”
“Arr,” Captain Clambake responds, “I be Captain Clambake.”
Both groups are on their guard and the tension is high, but it soon becomes apparent that both would rather parlay than melee. Soon the bugbear leader emerges from a hidden location. “Me Chagsuuth!” he calls in a voice like thunder. “Me strongest of bugbears here!” He pounds his chest like an ape.
“We’re here about the fungus in the harbor above,” Vito says, ever the diplomat. “Perhaps you could help us dispose of it. Maybe you know something about it.”
“Mmm,” Chagsuuth answers, nodding vigorously. “We know. We put there! Your people pollute our waters, make our food die! Fungus our revenge!”
Soon enough the story comes out. Apparently, the bugbear village has been in the lake for quite some time. When the sewage first started draining into the lake, the nutrients increased the food supply. The fish thrived on it. But recently, as the pollution levels grew too high, the fish began dying out. The bugbears’ food dwindled, and the greater portion of the village fled. Only the diehards, led by Chagsuuth, remain. Droidi is delighted to discover that the bugbear leader is a druid; Chagsuuth is delighted to find a druid among the party. This common ground reduces the tension further, and the two groups work out a deal. If the city will pay the bugbears 500 gp, they will agree to relocate and stop pumping the fungus into the harbor. “It die then,” Chagsuuth confides. “It only still there because Chagsuuth still pump it in. Me make it grow with nature magic.” The party agrees, paying the bugbears off up front. And then they receive a little surprise. A crafty look comes into Chagsuuth’s eyes. “Since you such nice people, Chagsuuth tell one more thing. This not our idea. We told to do this.”
“Told?” Vito exclaims. “By whom?”
“Shiny cleric of big light above,” comes the answer.
“Tangus the Brilliant,” breathes Droidi.
The party moves off to discuss this for a minute, and at once Horbin says, “He’s lying. I can see it in his eyes. But why? What could he have to gain?” [DM’s note: curse that successful sense motive check!] After a moment’s discussion, they turn back to Chagsuuth.
“What really happened?” Droidi asks in Druidic, and the bugbear booms out laughter.
“Me told him nobody believe story!” He slaps his chest again, hooting. “We paid to say that!”
Again, the question arises- by whom?
This time Chagsuuth shrugs. “You all look same to me.”
“To discredit Tangus,” muses Horbin. “Probably one of the other candidates. Maybe Ooluts?”
But it doesn’t really matter. The party has done what they came to do. The problems with the harbor should clear up in a few days, according to the bugbears. Satisfied, they decide to head back up and clean up, except for Droidi, who elects to stay with the bugbears and learn a few druidic spells Chagsuuth knows that he doesn’t. All seems well taken care of. Once the rest of the group leaves, the two-headed half-dragon halfling druid removes the orc ring and shows his true form to the bugbears. Although taken aback at first, these folks have experience with ettins and worse, so they aren’t too put out. And what looks to be a beautiful relationship begins...
[edited to fix a major messup in the story- thanks SeldomSeen, I had it all wrong!]
Next time: casting spells at politicians, the final confrontation with the Juiblexian cleric- and the election!
At last the heroes follow the sewers to the drain. It’s the only really large chamber they’ve seen, and the sluggishly-flowing effluvium slowly pours into it from several different tunnels. The center is a mass of nastiness. Debris, some of it surprisingly large, is squished up in a fetid mass. A few occasional bubbles and a slight sag in the center imply that it’s all draining somewhere, but very slowly. Various members of the party exchange glances. This could be an ugly journey.
“Well,” says Vito, “I don’t want to go down there.”
“Me neither,” says Captain Clambake. “Arr.”
“Nope.” “Not me.” “No way.”
The stench of the sewage is almost overpowering. “Maybe we can clear it,” Krunkshank suggests, and the group spends a couple of hours trying. The remove the largest pieces of debris, including a desk, of all things, and the rate of flow increases- but only slightly.
“Ah, crap,” says Horbin. “Maybe if we give it until tomorrow...”
The party returns to their traditional manhole cover and ascends the rickety rotten ladder, receiving their traditional greeting from disgusted townsfolk. They hurry to their traditional sea rinse, and while they're there they decide to harvest some of the fungus and see if it will eat the blockage. Then it's time for a bath, meal and drink. As usual, Clambake doesn’t seem to eat much, sticking to the bottle. Horbin sends Till to clean his things, a task the altar boy looks at with distaste, but his adoration for the adventuring cleric overcomes the stinkiness of his assigned duty.
The next day the group descends again, with Horbin leaving Till above as he did the previous day. They return to the drain chamber and find it less clogged but still clogged nonetheless. They throw a bunch of the harbor fungus on it and then decide to try to find out where the sewage is entering the sea. The only drains they find are too small to fit through, but they decide to check above for another, less disgusting entrance. This search leads them to a small freehold farm just east of Poppin. After talking to the farmer, the party decides to check out his well. A couple of water breathing spells later, we were down the well and in an undergound lake with a nasty slug of sewage ascending some 30’, no doubt to the sewers. The fungus that is infesting the harbor is present, floating atop the tainted water. The group submerges to try to wash as much of the poop off in the lake’s relative cleanliness, and then Krunkshank spots a submerged creature swimming slowly and quietly away from them, but it exits the range of his darkvision before he can tell exactly where it’s going.
The rest of the group follows Krunkshank after it, variously water walking, spider climbing and swimming. The group moves cautiously, and in about two hundred yards they find themselves facing a village of small huts that look fashioned out of gigantic mushroom pieces. Droidi slips the ring of the orc on to disguise his freakish appearance as they get close. Standing before the huts is a group of over a dozen hulking goblinoid shapes. “RRR!” the lead one snarls, and in poorly-enunciated Forinthian says, “Who you? Why you come?”
“Arr,” Captain Clambake responds, “I be Captain Clambake.”
Both groups are on their guard and the tension is high, but it soon becomes apparent that both would rather parlay than melee. Soon the bugbear leader emerges from a hidden location. “Me Chagsuuth!” he calls in a voice like thunder. “Me strongest of bugbears here!” He pounds his chest like an ape.
“We’re here about the fungus in the harbor above,” Vito says, ever the diplomat. “Perhaps you could help us dispose of it. Maybe you know something about it.”
“Mmm,” Chagsuuth answers, nodding vigorously. “We know. We put there! Your people pollute our waters, make our food die! Fungus our revenge!”
Soon enough the story comes out. Apparently, the bugbear village has been in the lake for quite some time. When the sewage first started draining into the lake, the nutrients increased the food supply. The fish thrived on it. But recently, as the pollution levels grew too high, the fish began dying out. The bugbears’ food dwindled, and the greater portion of the village fled. Only the diehards, led by Chagsuuth, remain. Droidi is delighted to discover that the bugbear leader is a druid; Chagsuuth is delighted to find a druid among the party. This common ground reduces the tension further, and the two groups work out a deal. If the city will pay the bugbears 500 gp, they will agree to relocate and stop pumping the fungus into the harbor. “It die then,” Chagsuuth confides. “It only still there because Chagsuuth still pump it in. Me make it grow with nature magic.” The party agrees, paying the bugbears off up front. And then they receive a little surprise. A crafty look comes into Chagsuuth’s eyes. “Since you such nice people, Chagsuuth tell one more thing. This not our idea. We told to do this.”
“Told?” Vito exclaims. “By whom?”
“Shiny cleric of big light above,” comes the answer.
“Tangus the Brilliant,” breathes Droidi.
The party moves off to discuss this for a minute, and at once Horbin says, “He’s lying. I can see it in his eyes. But why? What could he have to gain?” [DM’s note: curse that successful sense motive check!] After a moment’s discussion, they turn back to Chagsuuth.
“What really happened?” Droidi asks in Druidic, and the bugbear booms out laughter.
“Me told him nobody believe story!” He slaps his chest again, hooting. “We paid to say that!”
Again, the question arises- by whom?
This time Chagsuuth shrugs. “You all look same to me.”
“To discredit Tangus,” muses Horbin. “Probably one of the other candidates. Maybe Ooluts?”
But it doesn’t really matter. The party has done what they came to do. The problems with the harbor should clear up in a few days, according to the bugbears. Satisfied, they decide to head back up and clean up, except for Droidi, who elects to stay with the bugbears and learn a few druidic spells Chagsuuth knows that he doesn’t. All seems well taken care of. Once the rest of the group leaves, the two-headed half-dragon halfling druid removes the orc ring and shows his true form to the bugbears. Although taken aback at first, these folks have experience with ettins and worse, so they aren’t too put out. And what looks to be a beautiful relationship begins...
[edited to fix a major messup in the story- thanks SeldomSeen, I had it all wrong!]
Next time: casting spells at politicians, the final confrontation with the Juiblexian cleric- and the election!
Last edited:
Rune
Once A Fool
I know I'm no littlejohn, but here's an illustration of how I envision Sith.
I know, he looks like a monk, but if you were a fighter who couldn't wear armor, wouldn't you dress that way, too?
By the way, if you don't want me cluttering up your story hour (or if you just think this sucks), let me know and I'll remove this.
I know, he looks like a monk, but if you were a fighter who couldn't wear armor, wouldn't you dress that way, too?
By the way, if you don't want me cluttering up your story hour (or if you just think this sucks), let me know and I'll remove this.
Attachments
the Jester
Legend
Hey, I love it when other folks clutter up my story hour!
Cool pic, but Sith's player actually had a great visual for how he looked. He bought one of the uruk-hai action figures from FotR and gussied it up. I wonder if I could talk him into posting a picture of it here? He's a fantastic photographer, so maybe...
Heh... and after he got the hat of intellect from the githyanki fight he always wore it, he was proud of how 'wizardly' it made him look... he was always tryin' to get some respect as an orcish mage.
Cool pic, but Sith's player actually had a great visual for how he looked. He bought one of the uruk-hai action figures from FotR and gussied it up. I wonder if I could talk him into posting a picture of it here? He's a fantastic photographer, so maybe...
Heh... and after he got the hat of intellect from the githyanki fight he always wore it, he was proud of how 'wizardly' it made him look... he was always tryin' to get some respect as an orcish mage.
SeldomSeen
Explorer
OMG!
Jester, you crack monkey!
That's not how it went down yo!
All of us refused to go down into the drain, so we went looking for
wherever it drained into the sea. This search led us to a small
freehold a ways off from town. After talking to the farmer, we
decided to check out his well. A couple of water breathing spells
later, we were down the well and in the undergound lake. When we
found the otherside of the drain, It was choked off by a solid plug of
crap that we would have never broke through, even if we tried.
Another interesting think we did was try to feed the plug to the
fungus. We gathered up a bunch of the fungus from the harbor and
threw it in the drain room. We still need to go back and see how that
is doing...
Jester, you crack monkey!
That's not how it went down yo! All of us refused to go down into the drain, so we went looking for
wherever it drained into the sea. This search led us to a small
freehold a ways off from town. After talking to the farmer, we
decided to check out his well. A couple of water breathing spells
later, we were down the well and in the undergound lake. When we
found the otherside of the drain, It was choked off by a solid plug of
crap that we would have never broke through, even if we tried.
Another interesting think we did was try to feed the plug to the
fungus. We gathered up a bunch of the fungus from the harbor and
threw it in the drain room. We still need to go back and see how that
is doing...
the Jester
Legend
SeldomSeen said:OMG!
Jester, you crack monkey!
All of us refused to go down into the drain, so we went looking for
wherever it drained into the sea. This search led us to a small
freehold a ways off from town. After talking to the farmer, we
decided to check out his well. A couple of water breathing spells
later, we were down the well and in the undergound lake. When we
found the otherside of the drain, It was choked off by a solid plug of
crap that we would have never broke through, even if we tried.
Another interesting think we did was try to feed the plug to the
fungus. We gathered up a bunch of the fungus from the harbor and
threw it in the drain room. We still need to go back and see how that
is doing...
I thought you guys found the well after the first trip, once you knew where the cavern was more or less?
Hmm, that's the problem with writing this stuff up months after the fact... and the advantage of having you posting here!
I'll go back and cheerfully edit it to make it more correct...
Last edited:
pogre
Legend
Sewer Adventures
Great story! All of this sewer adventuring reminds me of one of my player's stories. His old man is in charge of the city sewer treatment plant. He was walking between a couple of the sludge ponds with his two sons. He turned to say something, lost his balance and fell in. As he crawled out, covered in sewage, one of them said to him, "Whatever you do, don't lick your lips."
Keep it up Jester!
Great story! All of this sewer adventuring reminds me of one of my player's stories. His old man is in charge of the city sewer treatment plant. He was walking between a couple of the sludge ponds with his two sons. He turned to say something, lost his balance and fell in. As he crawled out, covered in sewage, one of them said to him, "Whatever you do, don't lick your lips."
Keep it up Jester!
the Jester
Legend
Rune said:
Hehehe... Feel free to post your versions of any of the pcs or npcs involved, I have some pics I've drawn of stuff but most of it's too big to scan (art pad sized stuff). F'rex I have a cool pic of the githyanki party from way back. But yeah, I'm always interested in how folks visualize things.
Cool story, pogre! Although not so cool for your friend's dad. Icky! But I'm glad you're liking it.
I'll prolly have a new update tomorrow, it's late (I just got done watching Fight Club for the first time- wow, it was great!) so I'm off to bed soon. I'm also hoping to actually get a chance to run a game again soon, but who knows whether that'll work out. I'm leaving town to travel for a while, so I'm scrambling to finish my story hour to the point at which the campaign is currently at- I think I'm three games behind. Hopefully (crosses fingers) I'll finish it up in time...
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