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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CleverName" data-source="post: 1253158" data-attributes="member: 2591">Adventure 16How Not to Succeed at the Slave TradeContinuing the journal of Gudlaug Hamarson (Jon Hanna)After a night of inadequate sleep, we finally got up.“So Copoc,” I asked, “Did we accomplish anything during that ritual last night, other than sleep deprivation?”“Oh yesss.” he replied earnestly, “The spirit of Gondoc stands ready to do battle with the black ones.  You whose eyes are still lidded to the spirit world do not see him, but you may rest assured that he is here.”“Good.  Well, maybe if he’s just standing around, you could ask him to go get us some breakfast or something.”“I assume you are making a jest.  Gondoc does not work in the food service industry.  No, he will wait on his hot rock in the spirit world until he is needed.  Then, when I ask him, he will despoil the nests of his enemies, and break the eggs of the unholy!”As we pondered this, Kuldar reminded us that there were slaves somewhere around there that the troll and his slaver friends had abandoned.  I took to eagle form and soon found the chained-up slaves, shivering in the morning dew.  We came over and discovered that there were a couple of alfar, a cimbri of the brigantes tribe, a human, and some goblins.  We hunted some food to feed them while we discussed what to do.  Kuldar was pleased that these slaves had been dropped in our lap.  This would allow us to continue our ruse as slavers, so that we could travel into the Saluri lands unmolested.  Malcolm was not happy about selling slaves, and wanted to let them go.  I was not really interested in actually selling the slaves, but did think we should take them into Medoc, and then decide what to do at that point.  This is what we did.We traveled on to Medoc.  As we entered town we heard that there was a Rolgulkan mercenary unit camped in the city.  We moved through town until we saw the encampment.  We were to find out that this was a unit of sappers and night fighters called the “Stonebreakers” They were led by a half ogre named Vycos.  We found lodging at an inn near to the mercenaries called the Hard Hand.  We boarded the slaves in the stables, and went about our business.  We did not intend to stay here for long, but did need to rest for a few days and see if we could find some more clues about the Yuan-ti.We decided that we would sell the goblins to the Rolgulkans, and bring the other slaves with us to eventually let go.  No one was sympathetic to the goblins, and they themselves expected the worst.  Kuldar and I went to the mercenaries to make the deal for the goblins, and we sold some equipment to a dekkalfar who was trading arms near by.  We also learned from the merchant that some humans were traveling with the Rolgulkans, though they rarely strayed from camp.In the meantime Malcolm and Copoc set about learning of the situation with the war, and to maybe find out some information regarding the Nathrach, the Saluri tribe that we suspected was in league with the Yuan-ti.  They found out that there had been a healer near the Hard Hand, named Solviss, who was from the Nathrach tribe.  She had been called away about a month ago and had not returned to Medoc.   While Malcolm was waiting in the bar for us to return, he saw a woman who he recognized named Cryda.  He was upset to see her, because apparently she had been a former shipmate of his who had betrayed them.  He was upset that she was not back in Vacomagus where she was supposed to be serving some type of penance.  Malcolm was wearing a new face now that he had been resurrected, so she seemingly did not recognize him.  He talked to her and seemed as if he was trying to pick her up.  At the same time he hoped to find out what she was doing here.  He gave her a false name while he was doing this.  Apparently Malcolm is not a ladies man.  He was foiled on all of his attempts at gaining anything of use, either information or feminine companionship.  Unfortunately, Copoc started talking to her and gave her his real name, even though he looked human due to the Hat of Disguise.  Eventually Cryda left with another woman, and went upstairs to their room.Kuldar and I came back and we compared notes.  The stonebreakers would buy our goblins.  They were waiting for the second part of a payment from the Seluris before they marched up and entered the coming war.  Vycos was going to come examine the slaves and buy them, which he did.  We went to the stables to check them out.  He was particularly interested in buying the two Alfar.  He eyed them greedily and licked his big half ogre lips.  We did not sell them to him though, and he was disappointed.  We went back to the inn, and this is where things got interesting.Cryda came down the stairs and joined us at the table we were sitting at.  She was carrying a bucket with a towel over it.  She asked us if we knew of a man named “Malcolm” and his traveling companions.  We of course denied any such knowledge.  She didn’t seem convinced however, and told us that if we saw Malcolm and his friends, that we were to tell them to go back to Vacomagus and to forget about their quest.  She told us that her employers, who we guessed were the Yuan-ti, would kill the group if they went any further.  She put the bucket on the table and went back upstairs.With trepidation, we lifted the towel and saw a pair of bloody hands in the bucket.  Malcolm and Copoc quickly realized that the hands were from one of their former companions, Gann, a hobgoblin fighter.  We quickly discussed things.  We were all of the opinion that we should confront Cryda and her friend, who we had learned was a sorceress named Brethune.  Kuldar wanted to send one of the Alfar slaves, who was a rogue, in their window to assassinate them, while he kicked in the door.  No one else cared much for that idea.  It was finally decided that Malcolm and the slave would go through the window, while the rest of us rushed the door of their room.As we walked out to the stables to get the slave, an arrow suddenly sprouted from Malcolm’s back.  From a window on the second floor of the Inn, Cryda was holding a bow.  At the same time a chain lightning erupted outof the darkness of the stables - hitting me first and then bouncing to the party members and the slaves.  It toasted all of them but the Alfar rogue. Worse yet, the obviously invisible sorceress did not re-appear after casting it! Kuldar ran towards the only window into the barn and swung at empty space, hoping to connect. He missed. I cast a dispel magic and Kuldar had guessed right, even if her invisiblity had masked her. She hissed at Kuldar, waved her hands and disappeared! Malcom, having fought off the effects of what would turn out to be Wyvern poison shouted out, "The sorceress, she's up in the inn!" I turned into an eagle and flew up towards the assassin's window, as Kuldar rushed back into the inn.  Cryda hit Malcolm with another poisoned shot as he fought to get into the cover of the inn, again it was poisoned.  Then Bethune’s familiar, a pseudo-dragon, flew down towards Malcolm and his sting, the third poison to hit him in a matter of seconds was too much for him. He fell to the ground unconscious. Copoc drove the thing off before it could kill him. I thought I was in bad shape from the chain-lightning, but then Brethune hit me with some type of spell I was unfamiliar with which did a tremendous amount of damage.  I was in bad shape.  As I flew over to Copoc (who was trying to follow Kuldar into the inn) for some much needed healing, Cryda shot me with an arrow.  By all Nature’s Fury I was hurting.  While Kuldar made promises to Vycos in the Inn to help us, I managed to summon up a giant constrictor in the room with our attackers.  Brethune teleported out of the inn, and into the doorway of the stables as the giant snake looped itself around Cryda and began to squeeze.  After some healing help from Copoc, I was alive enough to bring down a flame strike on Brethune.  Although it obviously hurt her badly, she survived.  Her pseudo-dragon familiar did not.  She screamed and teleported away.  Kuldar and Vycos burst into the room as Cryda was about to expire.  She began to change slightly, and grew some fangs.  It was apparent now that she was more than just a servant of the snake people -- she was one of them now.I dispersed the giant constrictor before it killed Cryda.  I must say that it looked disappointed.  Copoc hypnotized her to find out what she knew, which wasn’t much.  She did agree to lead us to the village of the Nathrach, if we didn’t kill her.  We noticed that the stables and inn were still on fire, and set about extinguishing them.Vycos demanded his payment from Kuldar for helping, and went to the stables.  He grabbed the screaming, terrified living Alfar slave, as well as the dead one, and left to eat them.  Kuldar just shrugged.</blockquote>

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