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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Menexenus" data-source="post: 3318313" data-attributes="member: 8951">Session 4: Kullen's Gang16th of Planting.  The party travelled from the Land Farmstead back to the Whispering Cairn.  Alexander cast enough Rays of Frost to clear a pathway to a previously unexplored room.  Immediately thereafter, Alexander headed for the Able Carter Coaching Inn to catch his stage coach to Greyhawk.  It was agreed that the cost of the stagecoach will be deducted from party funds.  With him, he took a baby owlbear, a set of masterwork red leather armor, a ring with an 8-pointed star, and an elven armband to sell.  (The swaddled owlbear was a little fussy until Alexander cast Sleep on it...)  Of course, Alexander avoids showing his "baby" to anyone until he arrives at his destination - Lord Henway's Menagerie on the east side of Greyhawk.    After Alexander's departure, the rest of the party entered the unexplored room and found what appeared to be a sculptor's workshop.  Aside from some odds and ends, the only things that looked potentially valuable in the room were a large marble statue of a 7-foot tall bald headed humanoid creature (of the same race that that the party has seen on all the other sculptures) wielding a short staff or a long rod.  The other noteworthy item was a black egg with a golden equilateral triangle device sitting on a red pedastal.  Upon closer inspection, the rod/staff that the statue is holding is not part of the statue itself.  It is made of pale petrified wood and has 6 grooves in it, as if the staff were made of 7 distinct parts.  Also upon closer inspection, the red pedastal is made out of a very hard metal with sharp pointy spikes.  The metal's coloration is steel gray with abundant swirls of red that seem to shift position when the observer isn't looking.  Killian casts Detect Magic, but the only thing that glows is the ceiling of the room which has a permanent Daylight spell cast on it (making the room very bright).      Killian tried to take the black egg off of the pedastal.  As soon as it was touched, it immediately turned into a medium EARTH ELEMENTAL and asked the party a question in a gravelly language that none of the party understood.  When it did not receive the answer it was looking for, it attacked.  After the creature was destroyed, the party returned to looting the room.  Killick removed the staff from the statue's hand, and found that it would function as a lighter version of a masterwork quarterstaff.  Then the party experimented with breaking off a piece of the red-metal for taking into town.  The party found that the metal was harder than any metal they had with them.  Consequently, they were unable to break off a piece.  Since it was very heavy to carry, they decided to place the red pedastal inside the sarcophagus upstairs for safe keeping.    Then they went to town.  First they stopped at the Diamond Lake boneyard and spoke to the green-robed clerics of Wee Jas that protected it.  Although the Keepers of the Dead seemed a little odd, when they learned of the grave-robbery at the Land Farmhouse, they seemed genuinely concerned about finding and arresting the culprits.  The party was introduced to the head cleric, a human woman named Amariss.  When the party asked her about Kullen's gang, she expressed disdain for Kullen as well as his employer, Smenk.  She confirmed that he and his gang had come through town with a wheelbarrow, but the contents had been covered.  The party thanked Amariss for her help.Next the party went shopping.  First they went to Taggin's General Store on the town square and stocked up on trail rations plus some other odds and ends.  Taggin was a genial fellow who went out of his way to avoid learning about the party's business.  Then the party went to Venelle's leather/bowyer shop to sell Killick's wolf pelts and 2 suits of studded leather.  Venelle offered to sell the party some magical arrows for more money than they had available.  Venelle offered Killick some friendly advice about how to catch and skin animals in the future so that he would get maximum value for their pelts.  Next the party went to Osgood's Smithy, a metalworker who sells armor and assorted metal goods.  Although Osgood showed a great deal of pride in his craftsmanship, he did not seem to have the sort of items the party was looking for.  When the party inquired about purchasing weapons, Osgood explained helpfully that he stayed out of the weapons trade, but he recommended a shop called the Captain's Blade.  The party followed Osgood's directions to the Captain's Blade.  The proprietor, Tyrol Ebberly, welcomed the party with shots of scotch whiskey.  He bought a rapier and a rusted longsword from the party and sold Killian a heavy flail.  He told the party that he specialized in masterwork weapons.  He showed the party an ornate dagger that he called Vondoch's Claw which he claimed had a sordid history.  He also showed the party a broken spearhead that he claimed had magical properties.  Both were too expensive for the party.  He claimed to have a wand for sale, too.  Before the party could leave, Tyrol offered them more whiskey and pumped them for tales of adventure.  He confided that he was once an adventurer, too, who had traveled as far as Veluna back in his heyday.  Most of the party seemed a bit suspicious of Ebberly's his questions.  However, Tarric seemed to appreciate the strange old man.  He joined Ebberly for a few drinks when most of the party shied away.  However, Tarric was careful not to divulge anything about their expedition to the Whispering Cairn.    For dinner, the party ate at one of only two sit-down restaurants in town, called the Hungry Gar.  People in town had raved about the food at the Hungry Gar, but the party found it to be merely mediocre.  Near the end of the meal, a noisy chef came out to visit the table and introduced himself as the proprietor.  He insisted that his food was the best in town.  The party humored him to avoid making a scene (and to expedite his return to the kitchen).  As they were leaving the restaurant, Tarric bumped into an old friend from the garrison named Melinde, a paladin of the church of Heironeous.  Although Melinde is not directly affiliated with the Greyhawk Militia, she was an acolyte in the church of Heironeous located inside the Militia stockade.  She seemed like she might be a useful contact if the party ever needed help from the church of Heironeous.    The party decided not to confront Kullen's gang that evening since Killian was out of healing spells.  That night, each party member slept in various locations throughout the town (Killick in the woods, Killian and Alees at Killian's father's house, Tarric and Katawan at the Able Carter Coaching Inn).    17th of Planting. the party investigated farmhouses on the periphery of Diamond Lake, looking for more evidence of grave robbers.  None was found.  When they returned to Diamond Lake, they visited Benazel the chemist who works at the Smelting Plant and does a side trade in alchemical items and arcane potions.  Killick bought 2 sunrods and asked Benazel if he had ever heard of a hard, gray metal with swirling red patterns.  Benazel seemed intrigued and asked where the party had encountered it.  They replied rather lamely that they had heard of it from Alees's dead uncle.  Benazel did not press the subject any further.  He said that he had not heard of such a metal, but he'd pay 100 gp to anyone who could bring him a sample.    At around 8 pm that night, the party entered the Feral Dog tavern, a noisy "townie" bar frequented mostly by mine workers renowned for animal fights.  The Feral Dog is owned by Balabar Smenk and located on the north side of the town square.  The party entered the bar, sat at an open table, and ordered a pitcher of ale.  They quickly spotted the half-orc Kullen and his gang seated at a table in the far corner.  The "gang" was composed of 4 members: Kullen himself, an albino half-orc with an imposing greataxe strapped to his back, a sullen human wearing chainmail with both a longsword and a shortsword hanging on his belt, an old bald spellcaster, and a fighter in banded mail with a long pole arm propped up in the corner.  Alees tried to read lips to find out what the gang was talking about.  Eventually she realized that they were talking about her!  They seemed to be discussing how to collect a bounty Smenk had put on her head.  Alees made a show of buying her "friends" another round and then leaving by herself.  Kullen walked by the party's table and warned them not to get involved.  Killian followed as they walked out the door, but as soon as he poked his head out, it was met by an axeblade burying itself into the doorjam.    Both parties fought intensely, forcing each other to drain their magical resources (such as potions and scrolls).  Eventually when no one in the party was above zero hit points, and it looked like Kullen's gang would win by attrition, Alees ran next door and pounded on the Church of St. Cuthbert's doors.  Father Jierian emerged in his bedclothes with a light mace in hand and warned Kullen's gang to leave the party alone.  And, of course, immediately thereafter, Killian stuck his greatsword into Kullen's prostrate body.  Father Jierian warned Killian that if he wanted to continue the fight, he could do so without Father Jierian's assistance.  Reluctantly, Killian backed down, and Kullen's gang took flight into the night.  The party assembled inside the church of St. Cuthbert, where they were debriefed by Father Jierian who seemed very disappointed in them.     ... the party still doesn't know where the corpses of the Land family have been taken or why ...</blockquote>

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