Serpents of Freeport (Nadia Black)
The Exploits of Kai Garnham Vanderboren-Black as recorded by Nadia Black
And it came to pass that the Silver Beetles having triumphed over the Leach and his minions set about finding Captain Harliss Javell, the beautiful and deadly woman who called to Margaret in her dreams.
Among the items belonging to the fearsome Captain (that had been used by the Leach to bait his trap) was a slip of paper. A note to Tyrlandi, proprietor of Porphyry House, stating that the bearer was to be afforded special care.
With little else to go on the quartet sped to Porphyry House.
Porphyry House a brothel in the center of Freeport. Porphyry House a gaudy gem in the heart of a dying city. Porphyry House the home of Lelio DeQuay, a tender man with soft hands, strong chest and callipygian charms worthy of an epic poem whom I wasted several hours, and silvers, on.
The note and a sweet word from Garnham gained us an audience with Tyrlandi.
Of all the women that I have known in my life I would easily say she was the most beautiful. Her raven tresses stood in stark contrast to her milk-white skin. Ten score and seven women and twice as many men had disappeared in her eyes. Her voice was honeyed velvet.
But the heart that beat beneath that perfumed breast was of two worlds, neither of which is this one and the hunger in her gaze clearly wasn't carnal.
Tyrlandi admitted to seeing Harliss and being the agent that intruded the Captain into Margaret's dreams. It seems that some time after that the dashing Captain was captured by enemies. Tyrlandi knew where Harliss was being kept and offered the information for a lock of Margaret's hair.
Lady Fyorovna knew that such a piece of our dear cleric could be used to create a lesser Margaret. One that Tyrlandi, or her clients, could sate their lusts upon.
Other offers were made and rejected in turn. Finally, realizing that the life of Captain Javell hung in the balance, Margaret nobly sacrificed a lock of her hair to Tyrlandi.
Captain Javell, Tyrlandi explained, was being held in the Birdcage a rival brothel on the other side of town.
The brothel owner provided scant detail, only a cryptic warning to be careful of their pretty songs.
Thus the Silver Beetles made haste to the Birdcage traveling through deeper and darker layers of the city than we had previously seen.
Nearly to the seedy brothel's door we were accosted on the street by a man claiming to have magic items that he would sell cheap.
Dexter, seeing through the ruse, put five pounds of metal through his chest.
No sooner had the street pedlar been struck then we were set upon by Seventh Coil yuan-ti and the demon-ape bar lurgas.
Garnham and Dexter gamboled through the streets killing with religious efficiency. Margaret called upon the power of Aster and sent a host of bar lurga back to the pit that spawned them.
Fresh from quelling yet another assassination attempt the Beetles charged full-bore into the Birdcage. A locked door was quickly bypassed with Garnham's picks and we entered the Cage. I offered up my songs in defense against the anticipated sonic assault.
We found that the owners of the Birdcage were harpies. They clawed at our minds with weak words only to be rebuffed by my powerful songs.
Margaret and Garnham met the pathetic beasts in the air, striking them down quickly. One managed to call forth a guardian beast before her death.
A great undead creature rose from the earth and struck Dexter. It only took two swings of his ax and Lady Fyorovna's fire to put the beast down.
We found Captain Javell in one of the cages. Locked in with her was an abomination. A twisted child turned undead and made more maggot than man by unspeakable abyssal forces. The thing made to kill the unconsious Captain, but Margaret intervened and put the abomination out of it's misery.
The Captain was quickly revived and after a survey of the Birdcage we all returned to the Bronze Dragon.
Between the information that Captian Javell provided and Margaret's interrogation of the yuan-ti corpses we now know something of what to expect when we assault the Crimson Fleet headquarters.
Lady Fyorovna has taken wing to scout the base leaving Garnham and I to tinker with magic.
We are now safe from scrying whilst we are on the Bronze Dragon. With that privacy Garnham has taken up an expensive line of questioning and come up with a most vexing answer. An answer that I have been sworn not to write or speak of until the time is right.
When Lady Fyorovna returns we will gird ourselves with magic and bring the fight to the Fleet.
Even now Cold Captain Withers sits in his supposed safety unaware that he will not see another sunrise in this world.
The Exploits of Kai Garnham Vanderboren-Black as recorded by Nadia Black
And it came to pass that the Silver Beetles having triumphed over the Leach and his minions set about finding Captain Harliss Javell, the beautiful and deadly woman who called to Margaret in her dreams.
Among the items belonging to the fearsome Captain (that had been used by the Leach to bait his trap) was a slip of paper. A note to Tyrlandi, proprietor of Porphyry House, stating that the bearer was to be afforded special care.
With little else to go on the quartet sped to Porphyry House.
Porphyry House a brothel in the center of Freeport. Porphyry House a gaudy gem in the heart of a dying city. Porphyry House the home of Lelio DeQuay, a tender man with soft hands, strong chest and callipygian charms worthy of an epic poem whom I wasted several hours, and silvers, on.
The note and a sweet word from Garnham gained us an audience with Tyrlandi.
Of all the women that I have known in my life I would easily say she was the most beautiful. Her raven tresses stood in stark contrast to her milk-white skin. Ten score and seven women and twice as many men had disappeared in her eyes. Her voice was honeyed velvet.
But the heart that beat beneath that perfumed breast was of two worlds, neither of which is this one and the hunger in her gaze clearly wasn't carnal.
Tyrlandi admitted to seeing Harliss and being the agent that intruded the Captain into Margaret's dreams. It seems that some time after that the dashing Captain was captured by enemies. Tyrlandi knew where Harliss was being kept and offered the information for a lock of Margaret's hair.
Lady Fyorovna knew that such a piece of our dear cleric could be used to create a lesser Margaret. One that Tyrlandi, or her clients, could sate their lusts upon.
Other offers were made and rejected in turn. Finally, realizing that the life of Captain Javell hung in the balance, Margaret nobly sacrificed a lock of her hair to Tyrlandi.
Captain Javell, Tyrlandi explained, was being held in the Birdcage a rival brothel on the other side of town.
The brothel owner provided scant detail, only a cryptic warning to be careful of their pretty songs.
Thus the Silver Beetles made haste to the Birdcage traveling through deeper and darker layers of the city than we had previously seen.
Nearly to the seedy brothel's door we were accosted on the street by a man claiming to have magic items that he would sell cheap.
Dexter, seeing through the ruse, put five pounds of metal through his chest.
No sooner had the street pedlar been struck then we were set upon by Seventh Coil yuan-ti and the demon-ape bar lurgas.
Garnham and Dexter gamboled through the streets killing with religious efficiency. Margaret called upon the power of Aster and sent a host of bar lurga back to the pit that spawned them.
Fresh from quelling yet another assassination attempt the Beetles charged full-bore into the Birdcage. A locked door was quickly bypassed with Garnham's picks and we entered the Cage. I offered up my songs in defense against the anticipated sonic assault.
We found that the owners of the Birdcage were harpies. They clawed at our minds with weak words only to be rebuffed by my powerful songs.
Margaret and Garnham met the pathetic beasts in the air, striking them down quickly. One managed to call forth a guardian beast before her death.
A great undead creature rose from the earth and struck Dexter. It only took two swings of his ax and Lady Fyorovna's fire to put the beast down.
We found Captain Javell in one of the cages. Locked in with her was an abomination. A twisted child turned undead and made more maggot than man by unspeakable abyssal forces. The thing made to kill the unconsious Captain, but Margaret intervened and put the abomination out of it's misery.
The Captain was quickly revived and after a survey of the Birdcage we all returned to the Bronze Dragon.
Between the information that Captian Javell provided and Margaret's interrogation of the yuan-ti corpses we now know something of what to expect when we assault the Crimson Fleet headquarters.
Lady Fyorovna has taken wing to scout the base leaving Garnham and I to tinker with magic.
We are now safe from scrying whilst we are on the Bronze Dragon. With that privacy Garnham has taken up an expensive line of questioning and come up with a most vexing answer. An answer that I have been sworn not to write or speak of until the time is right.
When Lady Fyorovna returns we will gird ourselves with magic and bring the fight to the Fleet.
Even now Cold Captain Withers sits in his supposed safety unaware that he will not see another sunrise in this world.
