Agents of Chaos (Final Update!)

[the Jester]

The Chaos Fleet

The rain is pouring down and the seas are swelling as our heroes approach the ships, and as the party crests a high wave they realize that there are not just a few ships, or a few dozen. Not even a few hundred.

In fact, there are thousands of ships spread before them, vanishing off into the clear skies beyond the storm. Thousands of vessels of all kinds lay across the sea from horizon to horizon.

"Holy crap!" says Lester. "It must be Forinthia!"

"I don't think so," Sheva says. "They're too disorganized. Forinthians would be in formation."

Indeed, the ships are of many different types, from Peshan light balsa warships to armored Strogassian hulks. Sheva spots a ship of giants; even stranger things lurk within. As the party continues to approach, a small vessel (just larger than a rowboat) drops from a forward vessel and starts approaching them.

"We can teleport or trump out of here," says the L.

"Let's see what they want," Zeebo says. "And who they are. After all, they may be going somewhere important to us."

As the small vessel approaches them, our heroes are hailed by a piratical looking fellow with a cone. He invites them up to the vessel he sails on for a drink, and they agree. On the ship, called the Chaos Diamond, they meet Captain Nalina. After some initial verbal fencing to determine the party's intentions, Captain Nalina answers their questions over a horrific and potent fermented fish grog that tastes about like it sounds and, worst of all, is somewhat lumpy.

"This? This is the Great Chaos Fleet. We have all sorts of creatures unified here. Sort of." She snickers. "Not really unified, but working together. There's even a demon prince, Dagon, and his entourage. Why, just on my ship there's a slaad!"

It turns out that this slaad is none other than Jibber, the singing slaad that the party met when opposing the formians. "Will we fight together again?" the slaad wonders when he turns up.

"I sincerely hope not, but here, drink some of this fish grog," says Horbin, handing over the cup.

When asked where the fleet's going, the captain seems somewhat evasive.

That night at midnight, upon recovering her spells, Sheva raises Zeebo. His eyes fly open and he cries out. "Aaahhh!! Water! Ahh! I-I d-d-d-died!!"

After a few moments to compose himself, Zeebo's much better. He's very shaken by the experience, but once he's appraised of the situation, he knows he has work to do.

After Zeebo's return, Lester gathers the party in their room and says, "Well, we can either go on our next quest or we can go big money big prizes and attack Dagon, then get the hell outta here." The party debates the L's proposal, but in the end they decide against it.

In the morning, Zeebo is introduced to the captain. He tells her, "I am a member of the Council of Tirchond, so I may be able to arrange for things such as supplies if you go near there, and I may be able to arrange for some discounted goods. Certainly I can arrange to reduce the docking fees, tariffs and excises."

"Tell you what," she says, "I'm not really in a position to make deals for other ships, but I can get you in to see Lambollar. He captains a fleet of about 100 ships."

"Thank you," Zeebo says, and gives her a dazzling smile.


Next Time: Negotiations with Lambollar the Purple!

 

[the Jester]

While Zeebo goes to negotiate with this Lambollar the Purple fellow, the rest of the party watches the immense fleet and talks to the Chaos Diamond's crew. Sheva looks for natives of Tirchond, her homeland, and turns one up: a smooth-shaven human, even his head bearing no stubble. He introduces himself as Red, and after some conversation she persuades him to join the party- at least for the time being.

Zeebo, meanwhile, discovers why Lambollar is called the Purple: the color of his skin. It's the kind of purple you find on an eggplant; other than that, he looks human. Zeebo introduces himself and launches into his proposal: he'll arrange for fees and excises to be lowered or perhaps even waived, and will try to set up discount prices for the fleet when it visits Tirchond-

"How about this," Lambollar interrupts. "You set us up with deep discounts on products around the board and we won't raid your cities and just take what we need." He leans back, his purple face impassive.

Zeebo puts on his best poker face and the negotiations begin in earnest. He points out that his little island can't possibly provide all the supplies that the fleet will need, but if he warns them to prepare they can do much more. Shouldn't Tirchond and the Chaos Fleet be allies? They both oppose the Forinthian Empire, after all... Lambollar agrees, at least for his fist of ships.

But Lambollar will make no assurances about the rest of the fleet- "Hell, I can't"- and so Zeebo does his best to work out a deal with the Purple: Lambollar will spread the word and do his best to encourage the members of the Fleet to be "moderate" (in his words), and Zeebo will work out the best possible supply arrangement. The Mayor leaves knowing that he has a lot of work to do at home, and knowing that, despite his best efforts, the Chaos Fleet is a danger to Tirchond.

Meanwhile, Horbin's tried to break Lester's geas- to no avail. Then, after Zeebo returns to the group, they teleport without error to the Shining City.




Next Time: Zeebo starts politicking for the Chaos Fleet's supplies! Divinations! Rewarding the faithful! And trying to scry a god!

 

[Talix]

Curiouser and Curiouser...

And that battle with the Air Prince was relatively anti-climactic.

What was up with the Angel? Did she honestly expect them to give up their most powerful weapons in exchange for something they could do themselves later? Yes, there's a level loss, but those are unique weapons!

 

[the Jester]

Curiouser and Curiouser...

And that battle with the Air Prince was relatively anti-climactic.

Sadly, the party has demonstrated time and again that they can kill most anything not 4 CRs higher than their average level in about one and a half rounds....

On the other hand, remember that Ahhl'Ahhh killed Zeebo dead.

What was up with the Angel? Did she honestly expect them to give up their most powerful weapons in exchange for something they could do themselves later? Yes, there's a level loss, but those are unique weapons!

Heh... better to ask who she was, why she wanted the weapons, and why she wouldn't help without getting what she wanted... if she was really an angel.

 

[Talix]

Heh... better to ask who she was, why she wanted the weapons, and why she wouldn't help without getting what she wanted... if she was really an angel.

Well, yeah, I'm assuming she was with the forces of Law, and was trying to dupe the party out of their powerful chaotic weapons (I guess the time-sword might technically be lawful, but whatever). My feeling was still "what kind of idiot thought that plan would work?"

No offense intended to your campaign, of course - it's fun to see how desparate the other side is to slow down these guys.

 

[the Jester]

Well, yeah, I'm assuming she was with the forces of Law, and was trying to dupe the party out of their powerful chaotic weapons (I guess the time-sword might technically be lawful, but whatever). My feeling was still "what kind of idiot thought that plan would work?"

Actually (though the party hasn't a clue about it) she was an old enemy of Lester's in disguise... and she's definitely on the side of Chaos, but against the party.

One of the beautiful things about the Chaos side of things is that you can't count on your buddies.

 

[the Jester]

Oops, a double post- just a tease!

 

[the Jester]

Return to the Shining City

The party appears in the house that Sheva, Angelfire, Sybele and Zeebo partially own. They had been part of a mighty band of adventurers. Together that group had invested in a home as their base of operations- an investment that provided a relatively peaceful existence for five years.

"I have work to do," the Mayor says. He leaves at a fast walk.

He has to set things up for the Council. He has made many promises to Lambollar the Purple. Now he must try to keep them. If I can get him deep discounts, we can get out of this relatively unscathed- and maybe even turn a profit, or at least minimize our losses. Zeebo's going to have to lobby, and lobby hard, to get cooperation from the Council.

He gets to the Council chambers but nobody's there; it's late afternoon, too late in the day by now. He narrowly misses some of his companions at a club, and then, frustrated, he visits a fellow Councillor at home. This time Zeebo is successful: the elven Councillor is home. His name is Rillondar; he represents some of the grey elves in the northwest, a band of scholars and silverworkers. He blinks his violet eyes in surprise at seeing the gnome coming to him late in the evening when he's at home, but the Mayor tells him it's urgent.

Zeebo explains the situation, emphasizing the potential trade benefits. "There's a lot of people in that fleet, and they probably have money to spend," he says. Rillondar seems a little uneasy at first but is rapidly won over.

Of course, the Council is large- there are over a hundred seats.

It's late evening by now, but Zeebo keeps going. He visits the Hammerhead embassy. Vulker Hammerhead, Thane of the Hammerhead Halls, is on the council, and members of Zeebo's old band even traveled with his son at two points.

Fortune smiles upon him this time: Vulker himself is there- in town for Council business, as a matter of fact. He makes an appointment for the next day and returns to the house.


Horbin, meanwhile, wanders town looking for a temple of Dexter. They're usually very easy to find, but not this time. He doesn't see any to Galador at all*. Frustrated, he finally asks a passing elf lady, "Excuse me, where could I find a temple to Dexter?"

With the sort of sneer only an elf can put on, the silver-haired female says, "We don't allow them here." She really uses the sneer on the 'them'.

Horbin's stunned. He's never been anywhere where Galador wasn't allowed before. In fact, the only place like that he's heard of is Strogass- the Dark Continent, far away to the east, controlled by the Dark Emperor, a powerful (and legendary) priest of Bleak, the Black Sun, the darkness that opposes Galador's light. Strogass is the sort of evil place you'd expect that sort of stuff. But here?? Tirchond, home of the grey elves?

Horbin walks away, not sure what to think.


Red is having fun bullying beggars. He intimidates a homeless gnome, asking where the action's at, and is directed to a pimp who offers him "something special" for the exorbiant fee of 50 gp for one hour. Red laughs in his face, proclaiming that he "don't want no ho"- but he changes his tune when told, "You don't understand, she changes shape!"

50 gp and an hour later, Red's a new man... but he's not entirely certain what it was.


Orbius tries to scry Sybele's daughter Jezebel- to no avail. He casts a discern location and discovers that she's nowhere. My next move's obvious, he thinks, and casts a commune.

How can we find Jezebel? Wait.
How long must we wait? Unknown.
What would it take for someone to be nowhere to a discern location spell? They must not be anywhere.
Who is responsible for Jezebel's disappearance? Not certain.
What are the names of the three most likely suspects at present? Marius, the Master of Darkhold or Nigel.
Where can we find Marius? Unknown- perhaps nowhere.
Who is the Nigel that is a suspect? Angelfire's father.
Where can we find the entrance to Darkhold? You cannot, without a key.
Where can we find a key? Seek Zelman.
Where can we find Zelman? He wanders- now in Pesh.
How long until the bile lords wreak their revenge on us? Three days.
Will they send servants or come themselves? Servants.
When these servants come, will Thrush turn against us? No.
What is the most powerful creature they'll send? A deathbringer.
What time of day will they attack? 9 a.m.

As his vision descends back to a normal plane, Orbius considers. He's heard Lester's constant stories of the Darkhold adventure, including Zelman. He's a god, but the Eye figures that he knows enough about him to try to scry him, since Lester's met him before.

An instant later, Orbius gives a strangled cry. "I'm blind!!" he screams.

"My eye!" Lester shouts.

They go to the Temple of Coila to ask Sheva for help. The temple is fairly large and obviously very well run. Sheva tells them that surely the acolytes can help; when they meet the head adept, Krisic, he makes them pay 450 gp to remove the blindness. Grumbling, Lester and Orbius fork over the money and the Eye's sight in restored.

By this point it's late. The party has dinner and then retires in the safety of the home owned by...

"What did we call ourselves?" Sheva wonders aloud. "The... Swords... something."

"The Quickened Swords?" Angelfire tries. "No, that was those other guys."

"The Swords of Assistance," Zeebo says.

"That's right!" Sybele, Sheva and Angelfire all say together.

Sleep comes easily and settles deep upon most of our heroes. They pretty much all need it. Horbin, on the other hand, has a terrible time falling asleep. His god is not welcome on this island. He can't get over it. I mean, come on- he's heard of other religions not being allowed, but Dexter?

Even he finally sleeps.




*Think of Dexter as Galador's son and it all makes much more sense. There's a whole little theology lesson in here somewhere concerning the faith of the Light (Galador, Dexter, Prayzose) and Bleak (Galador's nemesis/anti-God)... I'll try to find a link to it or copy and paste it in here when I have a few minutes.




Next Time: Getting ready for the Bile Lords to strike! Will Zeebo manage to pass his program in the Council? And what will the Bile Lords send after our heroes??

 

[the Jester]

"...so you see, Thane Vulker, it's really in all of our best interests to try to deal with this Chaos Fleet on as positive terms as possible- and I think the best way we can hope to profit from it is to give deep discounts. The quantity of goods we can move is going to be huge- at least for the right kinds of goods."

Vulker Hammerhead considers. He's a stout, aging dwarf. He was the hero who retook his ancestral halls at the head of a band of adventurers and managed to bring in enough dwarves to now, not much more than a century later, have a thriving community under his leadership. His hair may be thinning, his manner may be gruff and his ears may stick out, but his mind is as sharp as it ever was (though, frankly, he's a fighter, not a mage). And he's a dwarf- he's more interested in the money potential than the elves on the Council will be.

"All right," the Thane says at last. "Sounds like we can make a few gold bars on this deal for sure, even givin' them the sorts of discounts that you're askin' for. And it sounds a little dangerous."

If only Zeebo knew how this will affect Vulker and his son before all is said and done!

"There's a Council meeting tomorrow," says Zeebo. "Can I count on your vote?"

Vulker nods assent. "Aye," he grunts. "Where there's coin to be made, there's dwarves willing to venture."

Twenty minutes later, the Mayor departs Vulker's embassy, hurrying on his way to the next Councillor he's got in mind. He has a busy day ahead. But what else does he have to do, other than mope around waiting to be killed by the Bile Lords?



Back at the house owned by the Swords of Assistance, Horbin prepares a small sanctuary. He's been told all about Forinthian invasions of Tirchond in the past, how they've tampered time after time with the self-determination of the Shining City and the entire isle. He can't help it; it still disturbs him that he isn't free to worship his god.

He wonders if this is how members of other faiths feel in Forinthian areas?

He summons an ally from another plane: Lionel, a planetar. The angel commisserates with him over the lack of a proper temple, but counsels patience. "With time, all things pass," Lionel says sagely. They make a bargain: for a small amount of gold, Lionel will help fight off the impending attack of the Bile Lords.




Angelfire and Red wander around together. They find their way to the local duelling society. It's a beautiful building, with a nice large front yard empty of major obstructions. "Looks like a fine place for a duel," Red remarks. They enter the building and Red pays for duelling licenses for both of them- "Just in case either of us need them."




Sheva, meanwhile, communes with Coila, her goddess, the lady of time.

What can I do with my power to aid you presently? Stop the forces of the Temple of Elemental Evil.
Should we be worried about the Chaos Fleet? They will serve their purpose.
Where's the closest temple of Coila to Var? The Delphinate.
What's that? The Island of Wizards.
Is a preemptive strike against the Bile Lords a sound plan? EXTREMELY dangerous.
Is there any way to hide from the Bile Lords' wrath? Not likely.
In Bile Mountain we fought a strange time creature- what was it? A chronal repeater.
What's that? A time golem (sort of).
Is it possible for me to make them? No.
What is a deathbringer's weakness? It's undead.

Hmm, Sheva thinks. I guess we shouldn't try to take the battle to the Bile Lords... but we can at least try to optimize the battlefield.

That night, while our heroes eat a feast of roast lamb in peanut sauce at dinner, an unexpected visitor arrives, teleporting in to the midst of them. Although at first Horbin and Red start to reach for their weapons, the others reassure them that this is a friend: Estelias, the grey elven enchantress of inestimable fame and beauty. In fact, Zeebo can barely restrain himself*, despite his long and exhausting day of lobbying. Fortunately, Estelias brushes him off with regal elegance, or else he might have suffered a coronary attack.

Estelias makes idle chitchat for a few moments. Zeebo tells her about the Chaos Fleet and his legislative agenda and she wishes him well. "Maybe I can try to help a little," she says, but she makes no guarantees and remains inscrutable, refusing to say how. Besides, she's an enchantress; whatever it is might not really be legal, and Zeebo doesn't need to know about that stuff. She offers to go to the Council meeting with Zeebo on the morrow and he gratefully accepts; her word carries a lot of weight and she's the best speaker he's ever heard.

She's never heard of the Bile Lords, but she does know what Bile Mountain is. Told they've overthrown it, she tells Sybele, Sheva, Zeebo and Angelfire, "I'm impressed. First Firestorm Peak, now Bile Mountain." She favors them with a dazzling smile that leaves poor Zeebo full of built-up pressure, and as soon as she leaves to do her important enchantress stuff he hurriedly excuses himself and walks stiffly (and discretely) to the nearest brothel, where they take care of him.

Boy, I can't wait to see Estelias again tomorrow, he thinks wryly as he drifts off to sleep that night.

The party sleeps again; one more day until they are attacked by the Bile Lords' servants.


*I think it's important at this point to mention again Zeebo's Chaos-induced "enormous fertility."




Next Time: Preparing the battlefield! Another commune! The Council of Tirchond meets! And will Orbius ever learn?

edited to add in Angelfire and Red's trip to the duelling society.

 

[the Jester]

Preparing for Battle

It's a gloomy morning. It isn't raining but it looks like it wants to. Zeebo tells the party that they should take the battle with the Bile Lords somewhere outside of the Shining City. They know when they'll be attacked; they can choose where to be. "We don't want innocent people getting hurt," he insists. "It's bad for our reputation." So the party agrees and decides to search for a good spot within a dozen miles or so of town. Using a wind walk spell, most of the group searches out a nice empty hill with good terrain. They can't help but worry about this upcoming battle.

Meanwhile, Zeebo and Estelias go to the Council session. The Council Chambers are beautiful, large and airy; the finest construction of dwarves and grey elves working together, stone and silver interspersed. There are ceremonial guards, but most of the Councillors are more than capable of taking care of themselves. There's Vulker Hammerhead; he and Zeebo exchange nods across the room. And Rillondar, the elven representative that Zeebo spoke with the other evening. And over seventy more Councillors. Enough for a quorum, and that's all that Zeebo needs.

There are opening ceremonies, including a memorial service, and then Zeebo asks for and receives the floor. He introduces the Council to the situation: "There's an immense fleet of Chaos coming towards Tirchond. They want supplies. We can't possibly provide them with all that they need, but they're going to come looking for everything we've got. We have an opportunity here- if we give them good deals on our goods, we'll prevent trouble and make money. This is both a tremendous danger and a colossal opportunity. We can make Tirchond a lot of money by selling our crafts, our weapons, our gems to the people of this fleet if we act now, taking up the measure I'm proposing; and if we don't take some steps to protect ourselves- such as this measure- we may be putting ourselves and our people in grave danger. My program will both protect our people and make them prosper."

The Council is not expecting this, and Zeebo receives a slightly worried but guardedly positive response. When Estelias takes the floor to speak, her words are so sweet and honeyed that Zeebo finds himself enraptured, nodding along with the beautiful enchantress. After she speaks, a few others step up to speak for Zeebo, either moved by his words or- more likely- by hers. Then a small opposition, isolationist in nature, arises. "Why not just ignore them?" their spokesperson, a female half-elf named Ziryon, asks. "We can hide our isle from them, and even if they find Tirchond we can hide our people."

"Not all of them," Zeebo counters. "Not in the cities. And I've seen this Chaos Fleet. I've spoken with their captains. They are formidable. They might be able to pierce any illusions we created."

Eventually, after several hours of debate, the vote on what is now being called the Zeebo Program comes.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party has made camp and are ready to fight at nine in the morning tomorrow. It's late afternoon; a little fire's burning, and it's been a fairly relaxing day despite the threat of death on the morrow. I mean, hey, they're adventurers, right? Lester's smoked a bunch of weed, several of them have nipped at some wine or liquor (especially Sybele), and they've had a generally relaxing day. It's odd, but true.

Orbius stretches. He wonders idly where this Zelman fellow could be. They need to find him, if Darkhold is where Sybele's daughter is. He casts discern location- and then gives a terrible, strangled cry as he is stricken blind and feels his mind lose sharpness!

"What happened?" cries Angelfire.

"I- I tried to discern Zelman's location... and was stricken blind!"

"You what?" Sheva chortles. "Didn't you just try to scry him the other day and get stricken blind? In fact, it was my temple that fixed you up! Don't you ever learn?"

"Yeah, well, they're not here right now... can you fix me?"

"You can teleport. They'll take good care of you. But you shouldn't be so careless with the gifts of Coila. You should learn your lesson."

Orbius teleports away and returns about half an hour later. Then, sheepishly, he communes.

How many creatures are coming to attack us? Four.
Are they all deathbringers? No.
Are they still attacking at nine tomorrow morning? Yes.
What other creatures will accompany the deathbringer? A psurlon, a giant and a demon.
That giant is probably the one we say in Bile Mountain, he guesses.
What type of demon is it? A glabrezu.
What is a psurlon? A mental picture of a weird, worm-like humanoid creature appears in his mind.
What are a psurlon's weaknesses? Easy to hit.
What are our chances? Fair.
Do the Bile Lords or their creatures know that we've prepared? Yes.
Did we pierce the hidden secrets as you asked? Yes.
Is Anvar alive? Unknown.
Where in Pesh can we find Zelman? The Emerald Lantern.
What Bile Lords are responsible for sending the creatures tomorrow? All.
Will we do well to immediately counterstrike the Bile Lords after the attack? Probably not.
What is the best way to defeat the Bile Lords? Unknown.

He tells that party what he's learned. Everyone plans their spells with the battle ahead in mind; everyone will have a chance to renew spells before nine.

There's a slight popping sound as Zeebo and Estelias appear. "Hey guys," he says.

"How'd it go?" Sybele asks.

"The Zeebo Program passed!" he says, and the group cheers him. It's not his first success, but it is one of the best.

That night the party rests fitfully. They're all up before dawn; it's a beautiful sunrise on a beautiful late summer morning. It promises to be a good day to die.



Next Time: The Bile Lords send the first wave of their revenge! The pcs have a brilliant plan; it goes horribly awry!