League of Assassins - Conclusion

[Silver Moon]

Wow. Kindor really has thought of many ways to jack the prices up, hasn't he?

Yes he has! The DM holds an MBA from a top business school which is sometimes superimposed into the NPC's, and Kindor has always been a favorite NPC. He has been part of the campaign since 1982's Module #1 (this being module #117). Over the years he has had quite a bit of interaction with the playing characters, which will probably increase given his new relationship with Serita. He has also accompanied the Silver Moon Adventurers several times into battle, being treated by them as an "honorary" party member.

 

[Silver Moon]

Game Two - 2/02/03

Auction Location:

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 6, “Securing the Premises”, July 3rd, 1019:

Kindor departs to go check in with Melito as the group’s elvan mage Kharole joins them at the warehouse building. They decide to take a very detailed look around the building itself. Narg declares that “There is way too much access to this place, we need to change that.” The group brainstorms about the modifications needed to make the building more secure. This includes filling in all of the ground level windows and chimneys in the offices on the eastern side of the building with stone or brick, putting bars and bolts on whichever doors they decide not to use and putting iron bars up over the windows in warehouse and second floor rooms.

Cassie suggests putting up some type of catwalk along the northern wall, above where the group is planning to build the auction stage. “Won’t a catwalk attract models?” quips one player. “We like that sort of thing,” replies another. It is pointed out that the group’s archers could be hidden up there during the auction. They make a note to return to the Island to get Aradyn, their most experienced archer.

They debate coving over the windows completely, and using Continual Light spells to keep the place lit. It is suggested that they cast the spells even if they decide to retain the direct sunlight, so that the building will be lit up round the clock. Serita says that they also need to find a way to prevent unwanted teleportation into and out of the building. “And a way of detecting anyone who is invisible,” Mark adds. It is also pointed out that Timothy’s alignment-detection ability will be very important.

They discuss needing construction supplies and laborers for these building renovations. They decide to bring in their own labor rather than hiring people they don’t personally know. Lannon comments “Won’t we get in trouble if we don’t hire the local carpentry and stonemason guilds? They’ll get mighty upset if we bring in our own people.” Cassie replies “Lannon, your Council position is Minister of Inherent Priorities. Just explain that whoever you decide to hire is an ‘inherent priority’. “Yeah, that will work,” he states. “And we can then also bill their services to the Jawlt Council,” Mojo adds.

Serita is given all three of the party’s bags of holding, and she then teleports back to Silver Moon Island. Last year the Island had been ravaged by a hurricane, and a group of over 100 human and dwarf laborers have been working on repairs and reconstruction since then. After consulting with the Silver Moon party members that have been supervising this detail, a group of ten very trustworthy humans and dwarves are selected to return with her. Serita also finds the elvan archer Aradyn to join them. They gather together along with their tools and equipment, climb into bags, and Serita teleports them all back to the warehouse. (Note: In our campaign people can be transported within Bags of Holding, however the amount of breathable air within the bag is very limited, so this can only be done for short periods of time.)

The construction workers are given an explanation of what is needed and the five-day deadline. The workers are told that they can use the first floor rooms for lodgings, and to confer with the army troops guarding outside about obtaining whatever building supplies are needed. Blip also volunteers to loan them her Woodworking Tools of the Master, to speed up the construction process.

The group then discusses the logistics of the auction preview. They first talk about limiting the number of locals to attend, but decide instead that it is better to have a line that is a continuous flow into and out of the building, and not let anyone stop and linger. Mojo comments “Right, make a note that we need to pick up some cattle prods.” As added security they decide that the preview viewers will need to show identification of city residency (tax receipts). A note is made to also get the local neighborhood authorities (the equivalent of the ‘beat cops’) to stand guard at the door to verify the identity of city residents.

Lannon suggest that they use the magical lantern which had been obtained from the heroes from Greyhawk, reminding the party that the lantern will reveal anyone who is either ethereal or invisible. He suggests that they have it placed out along with dozens of other ornate lanterns, so as not to draw any extra attention to this particular one.

Cassie points out that those precautions may not be enough, even though the preview is supposed to take place prior to the ILA convention, as many assassins will probably already be in town. Kharole also warns the party that the ILA could change their planned schedule.

Narg says, “Hey, we’re pretty good at this. Maybe we should become security experts.” “We’re doing that now” Timothy comments. “No, I mean as careers,” states Narg. “We already have careers,” Lannon comments. Narg replies, “Yeah, but this isn’t going to last forever. In another 600 or 700 years you may want something else to fall back on.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 7, “Dinner Plans”, July 3rd, 1019:

The group discusses where to hold the different auction-related events. Everyone agrees that the warehouse building should be used for the previews on the 8th and 11th and auction on the 13th . Disagreement arises as to where to hold the dinner on the 10th and ownership hearings on the 12th. “We don’t want to have to provide security in two or more locations,” Lannon emphasizes. “We just need to guard the items,” states Mojo. “We also have to protect the guests,” comments Narg. “No we don’t,” Kharole states, “Why does it matter if they get killed or not?” The former banker Timothy replies “Because Kindor wants to maximize the auction profits. Those aristocrats can’t bid on the items if they are dead.” Kharole retorts “They have heirs!”

The city has 60 different taverns and inns where those events could be held, however Serita points out the risks in having a food related event outside of their direct control. Everyone is reminded how easy it would be for an assassin to poison food or beverages. She suggests that the dinner and hearing also be held in the building, and that the party should cater the dinner. Between Jerry’s Tavern, the Panda House Restaurant, and Jamie’s kitchen back at the Silver Moon School back on the Island enough food could be prepared and brought in for the meal. Cassie points out that the oriental girls could also act as the waitresses. Narg says “Great, we can charge the Jawlt Council’s expense report for that as well. How does 10,000 gold pieces sound?” Fiona whispers to Timothy “I think Narg may be trying to get himself kicked off the Council.”

Serita agrees with the idea of having the girls as waitresses. Narg makes a few disparaging remarks about the oriental girls' hengeyokai nature. He then says “I can’t believe that my Island has become a haven for humanoid animal refugees. We used to be a proud group of warriors.” Mojo says “Oh yeah. You’re a fine one to talk about how things change. I remember the last time I visited you at your new house. You were completely drunk, lying on the couch, and wearing someone’s tiara on your head.” “Hey, dummy up on that,” is Narg’s response.

The group decides to have all five events in this location. Kharole comments about how this place would be easy to defend. Knowing how she thinks, Lannon points out to the elf wizard that “This is not the place for a Fireball.” She replies “Until it is.”

They discuss guards, deciding that round-the-clock guards from the Jawlt Army is fine for outside of the building, but not to let any soldiers inside. During the five planned events they will use their own guards for inside. “Fine, but we have to make sure that Bruce the Bugbear doesn’t speak,” Mojo states. “And you need to dress him up as a fighter,” comments Cassie. Mojo interjects “Oh no. I’m not volunteering to dress Bruce. I’d rather dig latrines than have that job.”

Kindor returns, and the group outlines their plans for security. Kindor states “Well, that’s fine for outsiders, but how does that keep Dennismore for stealing the items?” “We’ll deal with Dennis,” comments Narg. He asks again about when they might want to move the auction items. The group discusses different ways to move the items, coming up with elaborate plans involving multiple decoys. One plan involves having the several party members simultaneously travel on foot, others in wagons, and three overhead on their respective pegasus, wyvern and broom.

“Why don’t we just pretend to take them today, and get them tomorrow?” Fiona suggests. The party likes the simplicity of that, commenting that with the furniture being moved they can just put the items inside of something. Lannon comments “Hiding the stuff in furniture worked for smuggling several tons of gold and platinum out of the orient.” “What was that?” Kindor comments. “Nothing,” several people say in unison.

Back to the topic at hand, Narg says “Good idea. Today let’s just take some dummies.” Not letting that straight line pass him by, Mojo says, “OK, Mark, Timothy, I guess that means you.” Kindor says that he thinks he can find a number of ornamental jeweled items around his castle to send over as decoys. Narg jokes “Great, our buddy is going re-gift us a bunch of worthless stuff.” It is pointed out that since the real items will be stored in the inter-dimensional Castle, also having dummies within this warehouse building might be a good idea, to keep any thief who does break in from looking any further. Kindor leaves to go back to his castle and look for those things.

The group decides to assign guards in the room across from the inter-dimensional Castle’s hidden door in order to watch it. This prompts a discussion of whether to even let the rest of the party in on the passwords, or to just have those who already know about it with access. Mojo suggests “It’s too many already, if fact, I think we should seriously consider killing some of those who already know.”

Ignoring Mojo, Mark points out that for the ‘stealth squad’ to guard that part of the wall they should at least be told what is there. “No we don’t,” states Narg, “We’ll just assign that to Blake. He’ll do what we tell him without asking why.” Mojo interjects “But he’s a halfling. His attention span will wander after ten minutes and he’ll head off looking for food.” “We can tell Vincenzo,” Narg states. Mojo answers “Sure, we’d be safe with him, because he’s so big he couldn’t fit through the door.”

The group decides to keep the passwords to those currently present, and as an added precaution not use the Castle until they actually have the items to guard. They send the carriages down to the Military Docks to collect the remainder of the party. Cassie and Timothy fly their mounts back, and get them set up inside of the barn. The group then sends the carriages back to Kindor’s castle to pick up the decoy items along with a military escort. They drop Bruce the Bugbear off at Kindor’s castle, to have him stay there for the next day and see what furniture could be used to get the warehouse ready.

The party spends their first night in the warehouse, sleeping on borrowed army cots, the 2nd floor rooms and others guarding the main room. Mojo comments about it being silly, guarding an empty building, but Cassie points out that they need to make it convincing that the dummy items are real.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 8, "Melito, the ILA and the First Guests", July 4th , 1019:

The carpenters begin work on the renovations mid-morning, which is still far too early as far as Narg, Mojo and Furynick are concerned. Deciding that "If you can't beat'em, join'em", Narg puts on some carpenter's overalls, and starts in with hammer and nails. Mojo comments that "Married life has domesticated you too much." Narg replies "Hey, she now has me do a lot of odd jobs around the house. You get used to it." Mojo replies "I'll stick with the reigning queen, she has servants to do those things."

Melito, Kindor's security expert, Jawlt Council member and a 10th level rogue, arrives later in the morning. Narg tells him "Grab a hammer, there's a lot of work to do." Since Narg was holding several nails in his mouth when he said that Melito didn't hear all of it, which he decides was just as well. The rest of the high-profile group gather around, the stealth team still staying out of the way upstairs. He offers to answer any questions the party may have about the ILA, based on has experience as the former guildmaster of the Jawlt Thief and Assassins guild.

"How do they operate?" asks Fiona. Melito replies "Their member guilds each have their own style, the only constant being they show up and kill people." "Oh, so they're us," Mojo comments. Melito adds "Being sneaky and underhanded." "So it's not us," Mojo replies.

The party asks how many assassin teams will be at this meeting. Melito says that is uncertain, as not all invited members will show up, and some member guilds may not have even accurately translated the clues as to when and where the convention will take place. He says they can probably expect between 20 and 40 teams of 1 to 4 members each. Kharole shows off her intelligence, immediately stating "OK, so an average of 30 teams with a total of 75 assassins." This causes some of the party to reconsider taking this mission, until Serita declares "We're doing this! I want my hospital."

Lannon comes straight to the point, and asks "If we find any of these assassins, can we kill them?" Melito answers "Sure you can. You're in charge of security at this event, and none of you belong to the local member guild." He does warn them that they may wish to avoid killing any of the five ILA leaders, as they might then target the Silver Moon. As an after-though he adds "Unless you actually get ALL FIVE, then the ILA would be wiped out for good." That idea appeals to several members of the party.

Melito says that he has a few of his own operatives, who do not currently belong to the local guild, that might be able to assist the stealth team. He says that they were 'hidden observers' at the previous ILA convention, and may be able to identify some of the assassin groups. Kharole comments "Doesn't sound to me like they are very good assassins if they can be identified by anyone five years later." Melito replies "That depends on if you know exactly what to look for." He says that he will give a more detailed briefing to the stealth team as they get closer to the convention date.

Narg declares "Okay gang, here's the deal. If we find any assassins here, or nearby, we deal with them permanently. I don't care if they have nothing to do with the ILA and are just here for drinks." "How do we know for sure they are assassins?" asks Mark. Narg replies "If they are wearing any type of disguise, assume that they are." Mojo comments "Great, he just marked for death anyone who puts on an ugly tie or bad toupee."

Serita reminds the party that Queen Jennifer has a sword that allows her to detect any assassins within a twenty-foot radius, that the group might be able to sue. "Wouldn't it be best for her if she keeps that with her?" states Mark. "Yes, but one of us can also be with her at the same time," Serita adds. "Sounds like my job," Mojo declares.

Melito concludes by saying "In the meanwhile the first group of invited guests have arrived. They flew into the city around an hour ago, and you may want to go greet them." "Flew in?" Mark exclaims. "Who are they?" asks Serita. "A pair of dragons," is his response. "They arrived in the form of a pair of forty-foot long dragons, landed before an inn, then transformed to humanoid shape. They are now over at the Wandering Dancer Inn." Fiona asks "What type of dragon?" He replies "They appeared to be bronze dragons." "Lawful good," is Cassie's comment. "Unless they changed their color," states Serita, "We'd better bring Timothy along to check their auras." Mileto departs, saying he will check in with them again tomorrow. Former teamster Fiona gets a pair of horses hooked up to one of the carriages that Kindor has loaned the party, as Timothy gets directions from some of the soldiers to their destination.

The team of Aradyn, Kharole, Lannon, Mojo, Serita and Timothy then depart, heading north for a mile. They circumnavigate around the outer wall of the Lordholder's castle, and then head northeast along the main road. They travel for approximately a mile, passing the Minstrels Manor, home of the city's Bard Guild. The Wandering Dancer Inn is only a few buildings beyond that, and the carriage is parked in a dirt lot alongside the large wooden four-story building.

The six party members exit the carriage, and Serita comments "I wish that Melito had given us the names of these guests so we'll know who to ask for." Mojo sarcastically replies "Right. Because we wouldn't want to talk to the wrong pair of ancient bronze dragons that just happen to be staying here." They head around front towards the main entrance. They enter, and are surprised to find the large first floor room is nearly deserted, as most taverns usually have a large crowd for the noontime meal. There is no food at any of the tables at all, and there are only three occupants in the immense room.

The room before them has a large wooden stage on the far wall, which is apparently lit by a Continual Light spell. The stage covers about a quarter of the room, covering the full 60 foot width of the building and being 20 feet deep on either end and 40 feet deep in the center, which comes out to a point. The rest of the room is comprised of long but narrow tables, angled to face the stage, with all chairs only on the side that also faces the stage. The ceiling is 18 feet high. This layout closer resembles a theatre or auditorium rather than an inn. The section of the room closest to the main entrance has a pair of desks alongside one corner, a staircase along the side wall leading to a second floor, and a pair of doors on the other side wall that apparently go to an adjacent kitchen.

An extremely thin human woman wearing a pink dress and long dark hair tied back in a pony tail is seated in a chair near one of the desks not far from them. Further back in the room is a burley human man with a thick bushy mustache. He is wearing coveralls over a stained shirt, and stands along the side wall staring at the party. The third occupant of the room is a male elf. He is wearing tights and dancing shoes, and is practicing a dance routine up on the stage. The elf archer Aradyn sees the dancer and mutters to his companions "I don't like it when my people do things like that. It gives our race the wrong reputation."

The woman by the desk stands and tells the party "We will not be open for meals until the evening." Serita replies "Actually, we're here as representatives of the Lordholder, to officially welcome the new arrivals." "Oh, well then we should go get them," she say. She quickly glides across the room to the human man. As she does this the dancer's shoes that she is wearing do not appear to actually touch the floor.

She speaks to the man, then glides back to the party. The man acts annoyed at being given the task, and slowly trudges his way up the stairs. Mojo suggest to the woman "Maybe you should have loaned him your shoes." The party waits for a good ten minutes as the elvan dancer continues to prance around the stage. "I wish he would stop doing that," Aradyn mutters. "I think he's rather cute," Serita states. "Something tells me you're not his type," is Mojo's reply to Serita.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 9, “Enter the Dragons“, July 4th, 1019, 12:15 P.M.:

The group waits impatiently for the man who went upstairs with the message to return. “I wish that grumpy guy would hurry up,” Mojo comments. Aradyn says “Give the guy a break, if I had to spend twelve hours hanging around with people like these dancers I’d have an attitude problem too.” Mojo says “I’d just kill myself.” “Sounds good to me,” Serita mutters. The man slowly meanders down the stairs. “Well Mort?” the woman asks. In a gruff voice he bellows “They’ll be down in a minute. The group waits patiently for another ten minutes, during which time the elf on stage ends his dancing routine and departs.

After a while a pair of humanoid creatures arrive at the top of the stairs and begin to descend down. Even through they have polymorphed out of the original dragon forms, this pair clearly wished to make it obvious to all what their race is. While they are still in humanoid shape, with two arms, two legs and no tail or wings, they each stand 12 feet tall, are covered in bronze scales, and still have a dragon’s head. Their hands are a cross between humanoid hands and dragon claws. They are richly attired, one in a suit the other in a dress, with a long high-collared cloak on both. The clothing is primarily while in color, made of silks and velvet, with bronze trim and jewels that compliment the color of the scales. They also adorned with considerable rings and jewelry.

The two reach the ground floor and approach the party. The female stands slightly ahead of the male. Both Serita and Lannon step into the front of the party, and Serita addresses the dragons, stating “ It is my duty and pleasure to welcome you to the city of Jawltorn.” The female dragon replies in the common tongue “Why thank you. It is an interesting little city you have here. Now, who exactly are you people?” “We’re the Silver Moon Adventurers, we were sent to welcome you” Lannon states. The half-elf continues “I am Serita of the Jawlt Council, and serve as the Minister of Religions.” “And I am Lannon of Jawlt Council, the Minister of Inherent Priorities,” the dwarf interjects.

“And I am Katarensela,” the female dragon states, “and this is my mate Ssiralkoth. We are from the Land of Mourning Mist.” “Morning Mist?” Mojo comments, “I think I used to do shots of that.” Serita asks “And what is it about the auction that has brought you here?” The dragon answers “It sounded like something interesting, and we didn’t have any other plans for this month.” Mojo states “Yeah, I hear that happens to old folks after they retire. They have nothing else to do with their time, and have to find things to keep them busy.” Serita is annoyed by Mojo’s flippant remarks, but the dragons do not seem to be paying him any notice.

Katarensela then states “And we are curious about an item that some rivals of ours might be interested in obtaining.” “And what would that be?” Serita asks. The dragon replies “A gem rumored to have once been owned by a Green Dragon. We believe that the dragon or her agents might try to obtain it.” “Green Dragon!” both Serita and Lannon emphatically state. Serita looks to Lannon and says “You don’t suppose Mother….” “I sure as hell hope not!” he replies.

Kharole notices that the party’s two spokespeople are now engaged in their own conversation and ignoring the dragons, so she steps forward. Kharole says to the dragons “Please accept our apologies for becoming distracted. I hope that we have not offended you. My colleagues do not mean to disregard you, it is just that your information came as a bit of a shock. We have had some bad experiences in the past with green dragons.”

Katarensela replies “You little people worry too much. We tend to ignore comments from you humanoids that aren’t directed at us.” Serita turns back, and says “I’m sorry, I did not mean to be rude. We have previously had problems with a very powerful druid who keeps green dragons as pets.” Lannon adds “Yeah, it was a really bad time. They killed me and ate my mule. He was a really good mule.” Mojo says to the dwarf “You seem more upset about loosing the mule than your own life.” Lannon answers “Well, that ticked me off too, but a good mule is really hard to find.” Serita adds to the dragons “It has been over a decade since we last saw the druid, who also happens to be my mother, and we would prefer not to run into her again.”

“Where are the green dragons from?” asks `Kharole. Katarensela answers “The Land of Ladymist. It is ruled by a green dragon, and her followers.” Serita breathes a sigh of relief upon hearing that a family reunion is not on the immediate horizon. This leads to a discussion of green dragons, and how this Ladymist must be a place of great evil. Ssiralkoth says “Many of them are, but not all of the green dragons there are evil.” “So the city will be swarming with dragons?” comments Lannon. “Possibly not,” states Katarensela. Kharole interjects “Right, didn’t you hear her, they could send some of their ‘agents’.”

Serita informs the guests “There will be a formal dinner for all bidders in six days. It will be held at the auction location, which is about two miles south of here. Are there any special dietary requirements that you have?” Both dragons laugh at that comment, with Ssiralkoth stating that “Dragons can eat just about anything. We have very strong digestive systems.”

Serita states that Lord Kindor is pleased that they are here, and apologizes that he was not able to personally greet them. Katarensela replies “Thank you for the welcome. If either you, or your Lordholder, are ever in the Land of the Mourning Mist we will be sure to return the hospitality.” The two guests then turn around, and ascend up the long staircase.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 10, “The Jewelry and Gem Collection", July 4th, 1019, 1:30 P.M.

The party members head back outside to their carriage. “I don’t like the sound of green dragons showing up.” Kharole interjects “They may not, the exact quote was ‘Or their agents’, so they could be sending anyone.” Kharole adds, "They said these people were looking for a magical gem that once belonged to a green dragon." Serita says, "I think it's time for us to have a good look at these auction items." The others agree, so they head directly to the Lordholder's Castle.

They arrive back at the Castle and are greeted upon their arrival by the Jawlt Army Commander, Colonel Tenbar. The group tells the dwarven fighter that they have come to pick up the Jewelry and Gems. They are quickly escorted inside. Tenbar leads them through the immense stone building and to a staircase leading to the first sub-basement. They travel down several corridors and past rooms with army troops on guard duty. They eventually arrive at a vault-like room, with solid metal doors and multiple locks. At present the doors are open, and several Army officers are currently guarding the treasure. Also in the room is the wizard Mahjorn, an employee of Kindor's. The wizard casts a spell of some sort, and then informs Tenbar "They are who they claim to be." "As if anybody else would want to be Mojo," Serita mutters.

The room has a large wooden jewelry cabinet and two metal chests, all of which appear to have locks on them. Also in the room is a torso-sized practice dummy, this one covered over with an embroidered tablecloth. Tenbar explains that the collection of jewelry and gems is comprised of sixteen separate items. Mahjorn casts a spell on each, and Tenbar then takes a large key ring and unlocks each chest and the cabinet. The cabinet doors are opened to reveal four drawers inside, a large drawer on the bottom taking up over half of the chest, a medium drawer above it, and two smaller drawers above that. Tenbar uses other keys to unlock each of these drawers.

[Note to Readers: Pictures (or links to pictures) of all 16 items can be found on the Plots & Places thread. The pictures will also be posted here in the Story Hour as each individual item and the item's history becomes a key part of the story.

The middle shelf of the cabinet is removed. On the shelf are five items wrapped in velvet. Mahjorn says that each of these five items is a rare gemstone. The first is a large light blue rectangular quartz-like stone with angular edges that measures 2x3x6 inches in size. The second is an egg-sized unpolished pinkish-red opaque stone. The third is a triangular shaped polished diamond, approximately an inch in diameter, with a pulsating blue light in the center. The fourth is a large uncut baseball-sized rock that appears to be mostly comprised of diamond. The final one is a pyramid shaped quartz-like piece of green, purple, gray and white. The gem radiates a faint glow around it.

One upper left shelf of the cabinet is pulled out. A dark velvet cloth is removed, to reveal red velvet padding beneath, with a dozen indentations in the padding apparently designed to hold rings. Two of these are currently filled. The first ring appears to be gold and silver, with a series of sparkling gems encrusted in it, the gems being rubies, diamonds and some faint green stones. The other ring is gold with an intricately carved band and a large deep red oval stone in the center.

Next, the upper right shelf is pulled out, and a dark velvet cloth is removed to show a pair of pendants. The first is silver. Attached to a silver chain is the round pendant, with knotting etched around the edges and an odd design comprising most of the center. The design is perhaps a knight slaying a dragon, or perhaps not, depending upon how you view it. The other pendant is on a gold chain with a rough and bulky shield-shaped gold plated rock fastened to it.

The large bottom drawer of the cabinet is then opened. First Mahjorn removes from it a jeweled box. The box is wood covered with intricately carved silver plating. It is eight-inches long by five inches deep. The bottom part is four inches tall, with a two-inch high curved lid on top. The wizard reaches again into the bottom drawer, this time removing a jeweled egg. The egg is lying on its side, and is six-inches long at the widest point of the oval. It is painted emerald green, with diamonds encrusted inside of gold and silver designs. It is also split down the middle, with a gold lock covered by a red ruby. The ruby is turned, and the egg opens up to reveal a jeweled model of a ship, the hull being painted the same emerald green with the masts and sails being made of gold, silver and diamonds.

The tablecloth is removed from over the practice dummy, which has on it a jeweled black satin dress decorated with gold and jewels in intricate patterns. Serita asks Mahjorn about the dress, speculating that she might decide to just wear it back. He says that it is magical in nature, but safe to wear, and it can only be used after the wearer has been specifically trained in its use by the people who originally made it. The party asks him if he knows much about the other items. The wizard states "I personally don't know that much about them. Your associate Hiroshi knows the most, and he is still busy completing the research about them. I'm sure that he will be able to provide you with more answers once he has completed that task."

The smaller of the metal trunks is unlocked, and from it a gold statue is removed. The statue is that of a sphinx with a large polished gem in the center of it. The statue is fairly large, around the size of a cat or small dog.

The large metal trunk is then unlocked. From it Tenbar removes three ornate weapons. The first is a pick axe with runes on the blade and ornate ivory designs overlay on the handle. Next is an axe with a large ruby encrusted in the base of the handle. The axe head is of a unique design, with an oval opening in side, and points atop the handle and the back of the head. The third is a large ornate hammer with a gold spiral on the handle, a fancy grip with dwarven runes on the base, and gold designs on the top and both ends of the head of the hammer.

They decide that they will bring back all of the items now, so discuss how. It is pointed out that many of the items are small, and can be easily concealed. The party discusses hiding the larger pieces inside of a piece of furniture, since Bruce has probably found furnishings by now for the auction site. They head off to find Bruce, running into Lord Kindor. He tells them "Don't you ever do that again!" "What?" asks Serita. The Lordholder replies "Leaving that...that...Bugbear here overnight. He's been driving me and my men crazy!" "Okay, we'll bring him back with us," states Kharole. "As if I'm even giving you a choice! Take it with you" Kindor answers.

They tell Kindor they will also bring the auction items back with them this trip. Mojo says "Yeah, but first we need to made a sign that reads 'There are no valuables in this carriage'". "How about 'Driver can not change anything higher than 20 gold pieces'" Aradyn adds.

 

[Silver Moon]

Game #3 - 2/16/03

Chapter 11, “The Theft”, July 4, 1019, 2:45 P.M.

Serita puts on the jeweled dress beneath her regular clothing. The Silver Moon Adventurers decide to put all of the other jewelry and gem items back in the containers that held them. Mahjorn then casts a Wizard Lock spell onto each. The cabinet and chests are then each placed inside of larger wooden trunks, to be transposed back with other furnishings that Bruce has chosen for the auction house.

The group departs from the Lordholder’s Castle in a convoy of six horse-drawn conveyances. The procession is led by the ‘decoy’ vehicle, the ornate covered carriage. The carriage has seven uniformed Jawlt Army troops with it, two driving, two sitting atop with crossbows at the ready, two more standing on the running boards holding handles, and their officer riding inside. Following this are five wagons packed with furniture. Each wagon is driven by a Army soldier attired in civilian clothing with a Silver Moon party member beside him, with both Lannon and Timothy in the final wagon to watch those ahead of them. The trunks with the items are in the first, third and fourth wagons.

The journey is uneventful for the first two-thirds of a mile, up until the third and fourth wagons totally vanish. Narg is in the second wagon, and yells out as soon as the two wagons fade out of existence for the caravan to halt. He tosses a handful of coins where the wagons were, to confirm that they are gone and not just invisible. Lannon has his driver quickly ride the final carriage up to close ranks with the others. Mojo checks the chest in first wagon, which still contains the larger chest with the three jeweled weapons. Since they aren’t far from the auction warehouse Narg decides the best course of action is to keep moving, but at half speed with the party members looking around for anything suspicious.

Ten minutes earlier Serita was sitting in the third wagon, when the second wagon ahead of her came to a halt as it was approached by three army officers. The officers were led by Colonel Tenbar. This caused the druid to become suspicious, as she had seen him at the Lordholder’s Castle a very short while ago. She yells for the driver of her carriage keep moving, telling him to go around Narg’s carriage. As she passes the second wagon she yells over to Narg “Helicopter,” a reference to a device they both know of from a world they visited that an illusionist from this world would not be familiar with. Narg’s indifferent reaction confirms her suspicion, and she yells for her driver to pick up speed.

All of the wagons get moving again at top speed. Serita then notices that the wind has ceased and the air smells of freshly cut hay. She disbelieves her surroundings, and the street and most of the wagons around her vanish. Her wagon is inside of a large warehouse building, about 200 feet long, filled with various boxes and barrels, with a loft full of hay bales. There is a long corridor that runs down the center of the building, where her wagon has ridden for about 150 feet. The only other wagon present is the one with Kharole, about 40 feet further back. At the far end of the building are a group of five human males attired in regular clothing, but all wearing swords, have just shut and locked the warehouse doors that the wagons rode through. Serita yells over to Kharole that they are in a building, and the illusion then fades for the mage as well.

As the men near Kharole’s wagon move closer she tosses a fireball, centered behind the men. She is definitely out of practice, as the 7d6 fireball turns out to be exceedingly feeble (12 points), but it still manages to drop three of the men, also catching fire to some loose hay on the floor which starts to spread to some adjacent boxes. The fire causes the horse to start to move the wagon forward. Kharole hears a loud crashing sound along the side of her wagon which also rocks to the side, but is not sure of the cause.

Two armored men move out from behind some crates near the wagon Serita is in. She sees that there are some barn style doors that have been barred shut at the end of the building 50 feet ahead of her, and yells to the driver “Go get that door unlocked, I’ll deal with these two.” He does as instructed, jumping down from the wagon and running to the doors, and she casts a Control Temperature on the armored men, catching them by surprise with below freezing temperatures.

The two men that survived the fireball are still approaching Kharole, and she tosses a Magic Missile spell. This drops one man, and causes injury to the second, who stops approaching. In the wagon ahead the armored men climb onto the back of the wagon, and Serita hits them with a second Control Temperature, this one causing injury everywhere that metal touches their skin, with one of the men yelling out in pain. She grabs the reins, and gets the horses moving, as the driver has now reached the doors and is removing the bar holding them shut. The sudden movement of the wagon causes one of the armored men to fall off and onto the warehouse floor. He rolls to the side to avoid being run over by the wagon with Kharole.

The driver opens the doors and Serita focuses on getting the wagon out as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the other armored man has drawn his sword, and is moving forward in the wagon towards Serita. Her driver sees this, as since he is till holding his whip, swings it as the wagon nears. He is successful, striking the man, who looses his balance and falls from the moving wagon. Serita helps pull the driver back up onto the wagon.

Both wagons fly out of the warehouse, turning left on the street. Serita realizes they are a block west of the main road, and has the driver take the next left. The horses pulling both wagons are being driven as fast as possible, with the druid for once not minding a whip being used to impel them. They turn onto the main road, seeing the remainder of their party about five blocks ahead, and make a beeline towards them.

Lannon is the first to see the other wagons as they careen back onto the main road creating a large cloud of dust in their wake. The caravan is ordered to slow, as the two wagons catch up. “What happened?” Narg yells. Serita yells back “Illusionist.” He then says “Helicopter,” which causes her to look up and around, yelling “Where?” “Just checking, let’s get this stuff back fast!” “Agreed,” she answers, and the whole caravan charges down the street. Mojo comments “I hate illusionists!”

Kharole notices for the first time that the large wooden chest in her wagon looks different, and opens it to check. The metal chest holding the sphinx statue is not inside, seeing instead a wooden box with rocks. She yells this over to the others. Both Mojo and Serita check the chests on their wagons, seeing the cabinet and large metal chest still inside. As they near the auction building Serita yells “Keep going, have all five wagons drive into the barn instead.” They do this, with the carriage stopping in front of the barn and the army troops taking up guard positions, also alerting the other Army troops around the building.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 12, “Robbery Aftermath”, July 4, 1019, 3:30 P.M.

The two chests containing the magic are quickly unloaded from the wagons, with the cabinet and metal chest being removed from them. Several party members arrive from the main building, with Cassie telling her wyvern to be on guard for intruders. Cassie and Fiona begin alternating Detect Invisibility and Detect Magic spells. The Wizard Locks are then dispelled from the containers, which are opened to confirm the jewelry and gems are still inside. The containers are immediately shut. Mojo and Furynick carry the metal chest to the main building, with Mark and Narg taking the cabinet. They are brought immediately upstairs and to the door to the inter-dimensional castle, which Narg opens.

The stealth team had been told to guard that section of wall, but never told why, and look in awe at the doorway into the feasting hall. “What the heck?” asks Dennismore, as the fighters drag the cabinet and chest into the room. Narg orders all five members of the stealth team into the castle, telling them “Make yourself at home in here, and protect the items.” Once the members of this team have entered the fighters exit, and the doorway is closed and made invisible again.

Serita says she is going back to the warehouse where the ambush took place. Aradyn, Kharole, Mark and Mojo decide to accompany her, and get into a Bag of Holding. With her Boots of Speed she is able to quickly run back to the warehouse, emptying the others out of the bag.

About a dozen laborers are in the building, having made a bucket brigade to put out the fire that had started. There are also two burnt bodies. Serita questions the laborers, who explain that they were working in the warehouse next door when they saw smoke. Mojo is very suspicious, commenting “They sure got over here awfully fast to involve themselves in something that doesn’t concern them.” Kharole states “Not really. They were only next door, and if this building burned down the one that they worked in probably would have caught too. They were just looking out for their own livelihood.” The fire is now out, and the laborers leave.

The rangers Aradyn and Mark check the building for tracks. The other three stand around waiting. Mojo comments “This is weird. It’s the Fourth of July, and I’m hanging out in a warehouse instead of being at a cookout.” Kharole points to the burnt out area with the bodies and says “Doesn’t that count?” The players then get into an unrelated side discussion about a cake made out of Spam.

The rangers identify ten different sets of recent footprints, two human-sized made by armored boots, seven human-sized made by leather boots, and one smaller-than man-sized set made by leather boots. Several of the human-sized tracks head out a side door of the building, and end in the alley near tracks made by a wagon and horses. “Damn, they got away,” Serita states. “Not all of them,” Kharole comments, gesturing to the bodies. Serita puts the bodies in the Bag of Holding. The others opt to walk back rather than sharing the bag with the burnt corpses.

Meanwhile, back at the auction site the ten construction workers are busy carrying the furniture from the wagons from the barn and into the main building. Cassie has picked up the Greyhawk Lantern, which makes visible and ethereal creatures, and is shining it around the room. When flashing it at the doors where the furniture is being brought in it suddenly illuminates an older male gnome dressed in robes (illustration at the following link

Cassie calls out, and the gnome hurries to get out of the door and back outside. Several members of the party follow. He is not in the barn, having apparently crawled under the fence between the barn and building. The soldiers around the building are informed of this, and told to guard the doors and not let anybody in. Narg suggests that the best way to solve this is that every gnome in the city should be put to death. The others point out that he is overreacting. “Fine, then just arrest them all,” Narg replies. “Great, he’s now the Minister of Homeland Security,” Furynick comments.

Serita arrives back at the auction house, and the soldiers say they are under orders and she can’t go in. She slugs the man in the face and tries to walk past him and into the building. The other guards grab her, and a fight ensues. Narg hears the commotion, and heads outside and breaks it up. “What the hell is going on!” she yells. He answers “The illusionist tried to get in, so we increased security. All you had to do was prove who you were, which you still need to do,” he states. She unsnaps part of her leader armor, enough for him to see the jeweled dress still beneath, and he says “Good enough. Get in here, and get that thing to safety!” She enters, changes, and brings the dress upstairs to the castle.

By now the other four have returned. They wait for the guards to go get Narg, the guard now with a black eye explaining what happened with Serita. Once inside Mojo tells the druid “Gee, we had no trouble getting inside. Maybe you should try a little tact and diplomacy.”

The bodies are removed from the bags and Timothy and Cassie prepare to cast Speak with Dead spells. Timothy begins, the first of his three questions being “Who hired you?”, the reply being “A fighter named Porter.” “As opposed to a porter named Fighter,” Mojo quips. Timothy’s next question is “Who was the gnome working for.” The body replies “I don’t know.” Timothy’s final question is “What was your mission?”, the reply being “To steal the money from the wagon.”

Cassie can ask up to five questions, and she decides to talk to the other body. Her first question is “What was the gnome’s name?”, the answer being “I have no idea.” Next she asks “Where is your base?”, the answer being “I live at the Grumpy Priest Alehouse.” Narg interjects “We don’t need his home to get the statue back, we need to know where they were going to meet.” She asks “Where were you going to split up the treasure?”, the answer being “Right there at the warehouse.” “What were you trying to steal?” is her next question. He replies “A trunk filled with gold carried by wealthy furniture merchants.” “Furniture merchants?” comments Furynick. “Well, we did have five wagons full of furniture,” Lannon comments.

Narg says “This is getting us nowhere. We have to know where they are now!” Cassie’s final question is “Where did you meet when you were hired for the robbery?” The answer is “The Lusty Harlot Inn.” “I’ll check that one out,” Furynick interjects. “I’d better go with him,” Mojo states, and the then asks Narg “Are you joining us?” Narg replies “Are you kidding? I’m married to an archer. If I went into a place like that she’d put an arrow through my head!” Lannon comments “Nah, I doubt that is where she’d aim.” Mojo and Furynick leave. “I wonder if they’ll ever come back?” Lannon speculates.

Narg suggests to Lannon “Why don’t we go check out where he lived, something about a grumpy priest.” Fiona suggests “You should bring Timothy with you, he’s the closest thing we have to a grumpy priest.” The body of the one Cassie questioned is put back in the Bag of Holding, and the trio depart. Cassie decides to draw a picture of the gnome she saw while it is still fresh on her mind. Serita says that she will go meet with Melito once the picture is completed.

 

[Kriskrafts]

This posting is still by Silver Moon. I've been having computer problems, and for some unknown reason it won't let me log in as me, so I used an account for my wife.

Chapter 13, “Bar Hopping”, July 4, 1019, 5:00 P.M.

Lannon, Narg and Timothy get directions to the Grumpy Priest Alehouse. It is situated in the northern part of the outer city, not far from the river docks, the cloth manufacturing and trade district, and various smaller churches and shrines. The Ukko cathedral of the outer city is also in that area, although Timothy has never visited it, always going to he inner city cathedral instead. They take one of the wagons and ride to the area, soon finding the building.

The Alehouse is 60 by 80 feet in size two stories tall, and made entirely of wood. They enter the building, the first floor of which is all one open room, with the kitchen area in the far back corner. A long L-shaped bar with dozens of bar stools is along the two nearest walls, with a long sign on the wall behind the bar that reads “Grumpy Priest Ale”. Another wall has a staircase heading up to the second floor, and beneath the staircase are over a dozen barrels. It is dinner time, and the building is fairly crowded. All of the patrons appear to be laborers, from either the docks or cloth shops. There appear to be five employees on duty, two female waitresses, a cook of each gender, and a male bartender.

Correctly deducing that the bartender is the one in charge, they make their way over to three empty barstools. “Care to try the house brew?” the bartender asks. “Sure,” replies Narg. Three tankards of ale are placed before them. The ale itself tastes rather average, not bad but not great either. Looking at the clientele in the building Lannon mutters to Narg, “About what I’d expect for a working man’s brew.” The bartender asks “How do you like it?” Narg answers “This stuff is as good as I’ve heard.”

“So, do you have rooms here?” Narg asks. The bartender answers “Sure do. Cost you a silver a night or an electrum for a month.” The bartender asks Timothy “You staying at the church?” “I’m staying near here,” the cleric answers. The bartender continues “I don’t recall seeing you before. You must be newly assigned. Priests of Ukko are always welcome here, consider the first round for you and your friends on the house.” “Much obliged,” Lannon answers.

They order a second round, Narg saying “We should show him the guy.” Lannon says “Probably best to not dump a burned body out of the bag in the middle of a crowded tavern.” “At least not while they’re eating,” Timothy adds. Narg attempts to ask the bartender about a possible missing person who resides there, saying that the priest is worried about a parishioner. The bartender says that everyone staying there was around in the morning. “He may have just been missing for a few hours,” is Narg’s reply. The bartender looks to Timothy and says ‘Buddy, you need to stop worrying, he’s probably just busy. I’m sure the guy will come back to your church soon, there is no reason to harass your parishioners.”

“This isn’t working,” Lannon tells Narg. Narg then asks “Look, is there somewhere we can talk that’s a little more private?” The bartender calls on the female cook to come tend bar, and the four of them head upstairs. Narg says “We were trying to be discreet downstairs, but the truth is we are on an official investigation for the Lordholder. We believe that one of your residents has been killed.” “Who?” asks the man. “Him,” states Lannon, removing the body.

“Gads! What happened to him?” the man asks. “Killed in a robbery attempt,” Narg states. “Someone tried to rob him?” the bartender asks. “No, he was one of the robbers,” Narg states. “Who was he?” Timothy asks. The man replies “His name was Morris Black. This is terrible!” “Friend of yours?” Lannon inquires. “No, he hasn’t paid me yet for this month,” the bartender answers. Narg hands the man two electrum, and says “Here, that will cover this month plus your time.” “Can we see his room?” asks Lannon. “Sure, you paid for it” the bartender replies.

As the room is unlocked the bartender tells them what little he knows about the man, who has lived there for a few months but pretty much keeps to himself. The room is small, 8x10 feet in size, with the only furnishings being a small poorly made bed and rickety chair. There is a large wooden box in the room which is quickly searched. Some cloth and wool clothing has been set on top. Beneath it are three distinctive pewter tankards, one of which the bartender recognizes as the property of a tavern across town. There are a dozen pieces of assorted silverware, a few wooden plates and bowls, and a stack of a sixteen empty belt pouches of various different types of material. About half appear to have had the stings on them cut. They conclude that he was just a standard lowlife.

They ask the bartender if he knows of a fighter by the name of Porter. The man replies that the name is unfamiliar to him. They ask the bartender not to touch anything in the room, and then leave. They ride the wagon back to the auction house, concluding that this was a dead end.

Meanwhile, Furynick and Mojo have arrived at the Lusty Harlot, a three story 50x50 foot building located near the docks at the southeastern part of the outer city. They note that it is right down the street from the Full Tankard, the tavern where Narg’s bachelor party was held two months earlier. Mojo comments about being surprised the Full Tankard is still standing. “Hey, we did our best to rectify that,” Furynick replies.

They enter the building, seeing that the first floor consists of two rooms, each with a staircase up. One room is empty, but the other is occupied. Inside the room are a dozen tables, two of which have lone men sitting at them drinking. A bar is along each adjacent wall. An man dressed in cloth and leather clothing is tending bar at one, and two middle-aged women wearing loud dresses are talking to patrons at the other. They decide to go get drinks and talk to he man.

They each order a whiskey, and Mojo says “We’re looking for Porter. Is he anywhere around?” The man says “You missed him. He was here at lunch time.” “Think he’ll be back soon?” Mojo asks. “Nah, he just comes here around once a week,” the man answers.

The man goes to get drinks for another patron, and Mojo asks “What do you think we should do?” Furynick replies “Stay here for the next week until he comes back.” The bartender returns and refills their glasses. “I guess we’ll be going,” Mojo says. “Sure you don’t want to sample some of the other offerings of the house?” the man asks. Furynick gestures to the women, and says “Those two seem a bit old.” The man replies “Yeah, but they have some mighty nice looking daughters upstairs.”

Furynick decides to stay, with Mojo insisting that they head back with the information instead. “We’re not here for any of that!” Mojo yells. “Says you,” Furynick tells his roommate. “We don’t have time for that now, come back here later when we’re not working,” is Mojo’s reply. Furynick reluctantly joins his comrade, and they head back towards the auction house. Furynick pays the bartender for the remainder of the bottle of whiskey, which he takes with him.

Meanwhile, Cassie has completed the drawing, which Serita brings to the Lordholder’s castle and shows to Melito. He does not recognize the gnome, and suggests that she maybe check with the Sorcerer’s Guild in the morning. Serita then finds Kindor and joins him for a late supper. Kindor has Colonel Tenbar deliver a message back to the party that Serita has been delayed, and not to wait up for her.