Session #10.4 – Associate membership
After the previous night’s ordeal at the inn, the group was happy to be back on the road. Even the thought of facing down some hungry trolls or hill giants wasn’t too daunting. Hooty, however, was providing extensive air reconnaissance and helped them avoid two potential confrontations as they neared the marshlands.
At night, Zalman summoned up a Leomund’s Secure Shelter, a new spell he had finally figured out. The group was impressed with it and looked forward to the improved security it would offer them. It wouldn’t be long before it was put to the test, either.
Shortly after midnight, Nigel was making a wide circuit around the shelter, moving quietly and stealthily. His sharp elven vision revealed a couple of figures quietly approaching the shelter by a route that would pass not too far from his location. He decided to hold position where he was hiding behind some tall grass. As they closed, he realized that it was a pair of trolls. He decided to try shooting one of them with his bow. He knew that with their regenerative ability, it wouldn’t hurt them for long, but the noise of his bow might get Hooty’s attention and, ultimately, the rest of the group’s.
As he drew his arrow, he uttered the command word to his quiver that would imbue the arrow with explosive fire. It flew straight and true, exploding on the closest troll’s shoulder. The monster howled in surprise and rage and the pair turned on the elf. Nigel had hoped that his position would afford him enough cover to remain hidden, but he failed to account for their exceptional dark vision. Both spotted him and charged.
To this point in Nigel’s adventuring career, he had rarely been forced into melee combat. That changed very quickly. One troll was able to reach him and slashed its claws across his chest. Nigel dropped his bow and withdrew his longsword, its flame igniting, and struck back with an ineffectual blow. The second troll arrived and Nigel narrowly ducked its swing. By this time, he was yelled loudly for backup.
The injured troll hit Nigel with both claws and then rent a gaping wound in the elf’s chest. Various words went through Nigel’s mind at this point such as “Uh oh,” “Ouch,” “I’m going to die,” “I’m really screwed,” and “Wow, was that stupid.” Nigel decided that fleeing at top speed was the only option he really had left. Standing toe to toe with this pair was a quick ticket to the afterlife. As he fled, the second troll took another chunk out of his leg.
Both the shouting of Nigel and the hooting of Hooty quickly roused the others. Amblin leapt through the window and Zalman and Rurik headed for the door. Working more or less in unison, they tried to pull the trolls off Nigel with a combination of spells (fireball), tanglefoot bags, and straight up attacks. For the most part, it worked, and Nigel was able to limp back to the shelter where Zalman was encouraging everyone to regroup. Amblin used his spring attack to pepper the more injured of the two with light hits during the withdrawal.
When they reached the entrance to the shelter, they thrust Nigel forward into it. The first thing he saw was Kisty kneeling over a blanket on the floor, soaking it in lantern oil. Outside, Zalman nailed the injured troll with another fireball and it finally dropped. (He had prepared an extra fireball with the foreknowledge that they would be traveling through troll-country.) Amblin tactically dropped another tanglefoot bag on the other troll and managed to get it pinned down. Rurik was tempted to close in to hit it, but the troll’s lengthy arms discouraged him. Then Kisty called Amblin over to the window where she handed him the blanket. Understanding what she’d done by the smell, he tossed it over the stuck troll and they ignited it, burning him to a crisp.
Rurik healed Nigel and then told him that he was done with watch for the night. Everyone was a bit wound up from the encounter, but managed to eventually fall back asleep. The rest of the night passed quietly.
The next day was hot and humid, but otherwise passed quietly. Shortly before nightfall, the group reached a road running east west. Kisty surmised that this was the road that linked Water Break with a couple of towns out to the west of the city. The mage’s guild, if she was correct, had been established near the town at the west end of the road. Heading west, they soon reached the town of Marshfield, literally the end of the road. It was a small affair with a few citizens going about their business in the last bit of daylight. Not knowing for certain where the mage’s guild was, and being in the mood for a hearty and hot meal, they made for the small tavern and inn.
The Frolicking Cockatrice, as the establishment was called, would soon become one of the group’s favorite places to visit in all of their travels. The proprietor, a halfling by the name of Happy Eddibole, greeted them from the porch in a gregarious and welcoming manner. Everyone instantly took a liking to his exuberance and happily followed him to the delicious smells of dinner cooking inside. Happy was the definition of “service with a smile.” They were treated to what Happy called the Blue Plate Special (attributed to the blue-tinted earthenware upon which it was served). About once a week, he would prepare a special dish using otherwise exotic spices purchased from merchants in Water Break, and then it would be served as the Blue Plate Special. He was apparently renowned far and wide for it. The menu this evening included a succulently seasoned rack of lamb, greens, and butter-soaked potatoes as well as warm bread, cheese, and fresh-picked blackberries that were just coming into season.
After gorging themselves on a truly fantastic dining experience, Happy then introduced them to one more new item – coffee. Zalman and Amblin took an instant and fanatical liking to the strange drink. The others were a little less exuberant. Happy told them that he got it from a Water Break merchant who, in turn, got regular shipments of the bean from somewhere in the far south of Myrial. Zalman asked if Happy would be willing to sell some of his stock. Happy had to turn him down due to the dwindling nature of his own stock, but he did give Zalman the name of the merchant who sold it should he ever be in Water Break. Zalman, for the meantime, would settle on using Prestidigitation to make ordinary hot water taste like coffee.
When asked about the mages’ guild, Happy told them that the mages had purchased and renovated an old estate a couple miles north of town. The village was on good terms with the mages as they provided mutual services for one another – the village provided basic supplies and labor and the mages reciprocated with basic magics and plenty of fireballs to deter the local troll population. The group decided to get rooms for the night and pay a call to the mages in the morning.
The night was comfortable and uneventful. Happy had breakfast ready by the time they were awake and refreshed – bacon, eggs, potatoes, bread and more coffee. Once fed and packed up, they said their farewells to Happy and told him they wholeheartedly looked forward to stopping by again.
A poor dirt road led north of town, past a number of farms and eventually to the estate of which Happy had spoken. The complex had several buildings (manor, guest house, barn, smithy, etc.) as well as gardens and trees all surrounded by an eight-foot tall stone wall. There were fields planted in corn and vegetables as well as fruit orchards all around the estate and several folks could be seen working them. The gate in the wall was open and welcoming.
As they entered the grounds, a groundskeeper approached and welcomed them. They told him they were interested in meeting with the mages. The gardener was happy to take them to the main building of the estate where he offered them a seat on the porch while he went inside to fetch someone. He returned a minute later with a half elf male of indeterminate middle age dressed in fine robes of green linen.
“Welcome,” the half elf said as the groundskeeper returned to his work. “My name is Jamus Tobus and I am the head of the Thunder Guild.”
The group let Zalman take the lead here. “I’m Zalman of New Selmar,” he began, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Jamus. “These are my companions: Nigel, Amblin, Rurik, and Kisty.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintances,” Jamus said. “What brings you to our home?”
Zalman explained that they had multiple purposes. First, he was in need of a few spell components. Second, as a wizard himself, he was interested in possibly engaging in an exchange of spells with them. Third, he was seeking knowledge of any sort as part of his orders from the council back in New Selmar. Finally, they had a collection of magic items that they needed identified – something he could not do because of his lack of study in the area of Divination magic.
After a bit of friendly chatting and exchanging backgrounds, Jamus gave Zalman the scoop. The guild did not generally share spells with non-members. They would sell him spell components and identify their items, for a price. They also were willing to buy and sell some magic items, within limits of availability and need. Now, if Zalman were interested in joining the guild, either as a full or associate member, he and his group would be entitled to open spell exchange, free identification of their items, and more favorable exchange rates on magic items and components. Zalman was hesitant to join for fear of obligations, but Jamus explained that associate membership had a very limited fee and minimal obligations. Oh, and Zalman would have to participate in a mage duel.
The concept of a mage duel was one that Zalman was familiar with, but had never participated in. Jamus explained how the mages of the guild would frequently use duels as a means by which to hone their spellcasting skills and strategies. He detailed the means by which a non-lethal matrix could be established that would regulate spells in a safe manner. Contestants were frequently knocked unconscious, but rarely suffered actual injury. (DM note: I used the mage duel rules provided in the Magic of Faerun sourcebook.) Finally, Zalman agreed to the terms.
Jamus told Zalman that most dueling was done in the morning and, in fact, it was getting close to dueling time. He quizzed Zalman on his spellcasting skills to gauge which of the guild’s members would most equally match up against him. He finally settled on running a four-way free-for-all with three of the school’s other mages: Tilomba Topaz, a dwarven transmuter; Brittae Vaux, a half-elf conjurer/incantatrix; and Meepo Draconis, a kobold sorcerer.
The duel was fought in an open rectangular field. The entire guild turned out for the event, eager to see what the newcomer had to offer. Each began in a corner, facing away from the competition, and was given a few moments after the beginning signal to cast a personal spell before engaging the others.
(DM note: Each of the other players got to run the three other mages in the duel. The characters were pre-generated by me and each was given a suitable spell selection and couple magic items. While Zalman’s player pointed out that he did not have an opportunity to customize his spell selection list for dueling, he was also the only 7th level caster…all the others were 6th level and limited to 3rd and lower level spells. The duel was long and had many interesting turns and twists, too many to recall accurately enough to provide a blow-by-blow account. So, I will have to merely sum up the general flow of the duel.)
The duel began with Toloma nailing Meepo with a blindness spell. It stuck, blinding the kobold for the entire duel, as he had no means of undoing it. Meepo countered his handicap by unstoppering his Eversmoking Bottle, quickly obscuring his corner of the field. Brittae fired a Melf’s Acid Arrow, summoned a (wolf?) that was set after Meepo in the smoke, and then went defensive as the smokeline approached. Toloma then went airborne with a Fly spell and cast Mirror Image. Frankly, I forgot what Zalman did in the first couple rounds. After that, his primary threat became the incoming mirror images of the flying Toloma. He blasted most of the images away with an Electricity Ball (substitute element Fireball) and then tried to pin her down, unsuccessfully, with a Web. Toloma then knocked Zalman out-of-bounds by bullrushing him while flying, thus eliminating the first player. In the meantime, Meepo and Brittae were playing cat and mouse in the smoke. Summoned critters and glue patches abounded. Meepo, relying on his sense of sound, hit Brittae with a lightning bolt. (My memory gets real foggy from here…) I know that Brittae was the next knocked out, I believe by a combination of Meepo’s lucky hits and Toloma finishing her off once she was clear of the smoke courtesy of a Gust of Wind. Brittae managed to summon a giant bat to find Toloma, but it failed to mount a serious challenge to the dwarf. Toloma, flying above the expanding smoke, finally found the epicenter and dove into it, feeling around for the bottle. Meepo, still using his hearing, launched another lightning bolt her direction. She finally found the bottle and hurled it out of bounds. As the smoke cleared, she began to pick off the exposed Meepo from the air. Meepo managed to hit her with one last lightning bolt, but finally ran out of useful spells that he could cast without using his sight to target. Toloma emerged victorious.
The guild members congratulated everyone on a good duel. A few pointed out to Zalman his tactical error in standing too close to the edge, but they all looked forward to having a new face to try mixing it up with in the future. The group was introduced to the rest of the guild members (about 8 in all) as well as the half dozen apprentices. Jamus split up the group’s unidentified items among the apprentices for identification and the group were then shown to private rooms they were welcome to use while they stayed there.
For the better part of the next five weeks, the group stayed at the Thunder Guild estate. They made some trades and purchases of magic items from the guild’s stores, unloading some useless items and picking up a couple handy ones in return. Rurik commissioned one guild wizard to add a keen-edge enchantment to his dwarven axe. Zalman buried himself in studies, copying several new spells into his books and then crafting some Goggles of Dark Vision. Rurik busied himself by lending a hand at the forge. Amblin spent a good portion of his time training his dog how to be a good guard dog and giving free lessons in unarmed fighting techniques to a few of the estate’s staff. Nigel mostly just puttered around and occasionally dropped in on Amblin’s lessons. All of them made frequent trips down to Happy’s for the good food and good company.
Kisty, for the most part, was restless and on edge. She spent a good bit of time in town looking for signs that the Thieves’ Guild had tracked them down. After about two weeks of waiting around, she abruptly disappeared. For over a week, no one saw or heard a word from her. Rurik was fuming, fearing that she had departed with the book and without him. The others were at least irked at her unexplained absence.
Just over a week later, Kisty returned, strolling up casually to watch the mornings round of mage duels. Nigel, the least concerned of the group about her absence, was the only one present at her return. He asked where she had gone off to and she explained that she had a few chores to attend to and had popped off to Water Break for a few days.
Nigel knew this hadn’t been a wise thing for Kisty to do. He wasn’t too upset about it himself, but he knew that Rurik and Zalman might be a bit more peeved. He told Kisty as much but she seemed rather indifferent.
Eventually, Kisty ran into the others. In response to Rurik’s displeasure, she casually informed him that, in her absence, she had carefully stashed the book in the bottom of Rurik’s own backpack for safekeeping against the possibility that she might not return. This quickly lessened the dwarf’s anger and, while still not happy about the way she had handled things, he was back on good terms with her.
Zalman and Kisty, however, who had had a bit of a falling out, had yet another argument. Zalman had been on a big party unity kick due their continued failures when split up. That she had split off without explanation, and to Water Break no less, was very much against the spirit of staying together. Kisty retorted with a sermon on how she was not actually a member of “their” group. She was, in fact, allowing them to journey with her on her self-appointed mission solely because she had come to respect their courage and abilities and, in some cases, enjoyed their company. Zalman had little comeback for that, seeing some truth in her words that he hadn’t really admitted to himself before. They separated and remained coolly silent to one another for the better part of the last two weeks spent at the Thunder Guild estate.
Next session: Return to Water Break, a trade offer is made, and Amblin learns what school he was trained under.
-Rybaer
