Sagiro
Rodent of Uncertain Parentage
If you want the following story (which picks up the campaign in the middle) to make the most sense, I suggest you use StevenAC's fantastic PDF version. He has produced a high-quality PDF that chronicles the entire history of Abernathy's Company, from their humble first-level beginnings to their most recent high-level adventures.
Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 136
Sunday, July 14 - Dranko spends the rest of the day plying his underworld contacts in Tal Hae, hoping to find information about or contacts within the city of Kallor. Near the end of the day he hits the jackpot; an old rogue named Stockard meets him over a table in a seedy tavern. Stockard is a close friend of Keertine Smith, the party’s primary contact within the guild of the Undermen. And Stockard himself has a friend who operates solo out of Kallor. There is no Thieves’ Guild in the City of Twilight; the Church of Ell would not tolerate it. But a few men of the streets still operate there, and one of the best is a man named Ruland who typically works out of a tavern called the Tallowhouse. "Tell him Stockard sent you, and he’ll be able to help you out," Stockard says to Dranko.
Grey Wolf arranges with Morningstar to cast sending spells to his two younger siblings; if he’s really going to die in less than two weeks, he wants to see them one last time. Am home at Greenhouse in Tal Hae. Will be leaving soon. Would love to see you. Need to see you. Ivellios.
Morningstar does not hear back from his brother Garreth, but does get a reply from his sister Jaina: "I can be there in a week; is everything okay? Ivellios sounds worried. I’m on a job that I shouldn’t leave, but I can if "
Morningstar sends one more sending to Jaina: "Please come." The reply: "Ok. Tell Ivellios I’ll do what I can to get there."
Aravis, Dranko and Kay Teleport to the clearing outside the walls of Kallor. They approach the city gate with Aravis posing as "Lord Turlus," and with Dranko and Kay posing as his bodyguard. The sun is shining high in the sky above the city, and there is no sign of the "eternal twilight" under which the city always rests. At the long, enclosed gatehouse, the guards (astonished by the sight of Aravis’ eyes and the metal tracings on his skin) demand that all weapons be peace-bonded while inside the city walls.
When the three of them emerge from the inner doors of the gatehouse, it is twilight. The sun is visible in the sky, a muted gray disc casting a faint light into the city. They ask for directions to the Tallowhouse, and head that way. Once out of sight of the guards, Kay starts tampering with the peace-bonding on her war-hammer, in case she needs to use it in a hurry.
The citizens on the streets of Kallor seem less talkative, less cheerful than they did the last time the party was there (about two years earlier). People are walking quickly with their heads down, and seem ill at ease. Aravis feels it, too – an unnatural sense of foreboding or worry with no obvious cause. Dranko and Kay feel nothing.
At the Tallowhouse, Dranko goes in and asks for Ruland, and is pointed to a tall man drinking at the back of the tavern. He walks over. "You Ruland?" he asks.
"Maybe."
"Stockard sent me."
"Have a seat."
From his conversation with Ruland, Dranko gets the latest local gossip. The major news is the recent gruesome murder of a local wizard named Alstott. Alstott used to be an advisor to the city government, but retired many years ago. He has always been well-liked by the populace, and in his retirement years he spend much of his time making small charms for nobles and delighting children with cantrips. A couple of weeks ago, Alstott’s body was found on the street right outside of his home. It was horribly blackened, but from what Ruland could gather, not burned. The house was searched, evidence was gathered, and all of it has been locked up in the constabulary on orders of the Church. Ruland promises to do what he can to learn more about what’s going on, and Dranko departs.
On the way back, Kay pokes her head into other taverns, until she spots what she’s looking for. There’s a large man with one leg sitting at a table, a crutch leaning up against the wall. She goes in, introduces herself to the man (named Sam) as "Elhen," and strikes up a conversation about what’s going on in town. Sam also knows about the murder of Alstott, though not anything more than did Ruland. Much to Kay’s satisfaction, Sam mentions that there are many reports that the orcs in the region have all fled back into the mountains, withdrawing from both Hae Kalkas and Sentinel. Some troops have returned home, while others have been sent directly to the Balani Peninsula to fight the Delfirians. But despite this good news, which should be boosting locale morale, everyone seems in a funk. Interestingly, the city-wide malaise predates the death of Alstott by a good month or two.
Before they leave Kallor, the three of them rent rooms in advance for a whole week, at an expensive inn called the Moonspell. Then they teleport back to the Greenhouse.
Morningstar uses another sending spell to contact Vera, an Illuminated Sisters member who serves (discreetly) on the Rhiavonne’s high council in Kallor. Eventually she arranges an in-person meeting for the following afternoon, once she realizes that Vera is not herself a Dreamwalker. Morningstar warns Vera that she is persona-non-grata with the mother church these days, that their meeting should be kept secret, and that Morningstar herself might be invisible, in gaseous form, or both.
Kibi and Grey Wolf spend the hours closed in their rooms, busily transcribing spells from some of their captured spellbooks. Kibi is trying to ink the spell of confusion which itself is a confusing and daunting task. Ernie brings them food every so often, keeping up their strength while they study.
Monday, July 15 - The next morning there is a knock on the door. The man is given the standard "Farazil Light Test" before he leaves his message: that Makel is going to be leaving the next morning at sunrise, and that he’d like the party to be there for his send-off.
At two o’clock, Aravis (with Dranko and Morningstar) are all made invisible before teleporting back to their near-Kallor arrival spot. A few minutes later the diminutive Vera stumbles into the clearing. "Morningstar? Are you there?"
Vera confirms much of what the party has already learned about what’s going on in Kallor. While she herself doesn’t feel the uneasiness as much as some, High Priestess Rhiavonne feels it most acutely. She does have some additional tidbits that the party has not learned. For one, the body of Alstott, as well as the evidence taken from his home, are being held in the constabulary. This was on the orders of Stersa, one of Rhiavonne’s inner circle. Stersa had found evidence among Alstott’s possessions that he had been planning an assault on the Church of Ell itself! Vera doesn’t think that the Black Circle has infiltrated the Ellish temple, but she promises to keep alert and report anything interesting or suspicious back to Morningstar.
That evening there is another knock at the door, and Eddings lets an old white-haired man into the Greenhouse. He’s well-weathered and liberally scarred, and introduces himself as Sutton, a retired sailor who heard from Makel that the occupants of the Greenhouse were looking to hire a navigator for their ship. He is friendly, garrulous, willing to cross verbal swords with Dranko, and though astonished by things like Aravis’ eyes, Kibi’s familiar, and the odd monster bits in the trophy case, he takes it all in stride. He says that although Makel withheld details, he fully prepared Sutton for some strange things. Sutton has been comfortable retired for a few years, since he sold his ship the Speeding Scallop, but the sea has been calling him, and he’s been looking for a unique opportunity to get back in the water. The party (possibly excepting Dranko) loves him and his attitude, and agrees to hire him on the spot. He says he’ll be waiting at home for when they need him.
Tuesday, July 16- At sunrise the party heads down to the Temple of Brechen, perched on the edge of the harbor. There is a small crowd of priests and priestesses gathered, as Makel’s ship Harbinger is being readied for a long voyage. Makel sees them and waves them over to the edge of the water and meets them there.
"I’m glad you came," he says. "I’d hate to have missed you before I go."
Ernie has brought him – of all things – some fish to eat on his journey. "I know you’ll probably be sick of it," he says, "but this is better cooked than what you’ll have on your trip."
Makel’s expression betrays many conflicting emotions: sorrow and happiness, excitement and fear. He still doesn’t know where his voyage will end. In a choking voice he thanks the party for everything they’ve done for him; for rescuing him from the bottle, for giving him a purpose in life, and for bringing him back from the dead, which will allow him to pursue this mission for Brechen.
"And… I don’t know this for certain, but… I don’t… I don’t think I’ll be seeing you again."
"Oh, c’mon, sure you will," says Dranko encouragingly. But an uncomfortable silence hangs in the air before Makel speaks again.
"If I don’t leave now, I’m liable to start crying in front of all these people. Take care of yourselves."
And he walks back up the gangplank and onto the deck of the Harbinger. At once a sweet wind picks up and blows around the harbor. It fills the ship’s sails, and sweeps Makel away toward the horizon and out of sight.
A few hours later, when most of the group is back in the Greenhouse, Skorg comes in the door. He’s been out visiting various taverns and getting a feel for the city, and heard an interesting bit of news. It seems that the city of Calnis, which had been practically encased in crystal for many months (and presumably taken over by an Eye of Moirel inhabiting the body of a gnoll), has become open again. The crystal has vanished, and forces are being sent in to investigate, and see what is left of the place.
The party’s first assumption is that this is directly due to the death of Restimar and the general withdrawal of humanoid forces in recent weeks. The other explanation, of course, is that someone managed to enter the city and defeat the Eye-gnoll. There is no further information to advance either of these possibilities.
…to be continued…
Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 136
Sunday, July 14 - Dranko spends the rest of the day plying his underworld contacts in Tal Hae, hoping to find information about or contacts within the city of Kallor. Near the end of the day he hits the jackpot; an old rogue named Stockard meets him over a table in a seedy tavern. Stockard is a close friend of Keertine Smith, the party’s primary contact within the guild of the Undermen. And Stockard himself has a friend who operates solo out of Kallor. There is no Thieves’ Guild in the City of Twilight; the Church of Ell would not tolerate it. But a few men of the streets still operate there, and one of the best is a man named Ruland who typically works out of a tavern called the Tallowhouse. "Tell him Stockard sent you, and he’ll be able to help you out," Stockard says to Dranko.
Grey Wolf arranges with Morningstar to cast sending spells to his two younger siblings; if he’s really going to die in less than two weeks, he wants to see them one last time. Am home at Greenhouse in Tal Hae. Will be leaving soon. Would love to see you. Need to see you. Ivellios.
Morningstar does not hear back from his brother Garreth, but does get a reply from his sister Jaina: "I can be there in a week; is everything okay? Ivellios sounds worried. I’m on a job that I shouldn’t leave, but I can if "
Morningstar sends one more sending to Jaina: "Please come." The reply: "Ok. Tell Ivellios I’ll do what I can to get there."
Aravis, Dranko and Kay Teleport to the clearing outside the walls of Kallor. They approach the city gate with Aravis posing as "Lord Turlus," and with Dranko and Kay posing as his bodyguard. The sun is shining high in the sky above the city, and there is no sign of the "eternal twilight" under which the city always rests. At the long, enclosed gatehouse, the guards (astonished by the sight of Aravis’ eyes and the metal tracings on his skin) demand that all weapons be peace-bonded while inside the city walls.
When the three of them emerge from the inner doors of the gatehouse, it is twilight. The sun is visible in the sky, a muted gray disc casting a faint light into the city. They ask for directions to the Tallowhouse, and head that way. Once out of sight of the guards, Kay starts tampering with the peace-bonding on her war-hammer, in case she needs to use it in a hurry.
The citizens on the streets of Kallor seem less talkative, less cheerful than they did the last time the party was there (about two years earlier). People are walking quickly with their heads down, and seem ill at ease. Aravis feels it, too – an unnatural sense of foreboding or worry with no obvious cause. Dranko and Kay feel nothing.
At the Tallowhouse, Dranko goes in and asks for Ruland, and is pointed to a tall man drinking at the back of the tavern. He walks over. "You Ruland?" he asks.
"Maybe."
"Stockard sent me."
"Have a seat."
From his conversation with Ruland, Dranko gets the latest local gossip. The major news is the recent gruesome murder of a local wizard named Alstott. Alstott used to be an advisor to the city government, but retired many years ago. He has always been well-liked by the populace, and in his retirement years he spend much of his time making small charms for nobles and delighting children with cantrips. A couple of weeks ago, Alstott’s body was found on the street right outside of his home. It was horribly blackened, but from what Ruland could gather, not burned. The house was searched, evidence was gathered, and all of it has been locked up in the constabulary on orders of the Church. Ruland promises to do what he can to learn more about what’s going on, and Dranko departs.
On the way back, Kay pokes her head into other taverns, until she spots what she’s looking for. There’s a large man with one leg sitting at a table, a crutch leaning up against the wall. She goes in, introduces herself to the man (named Sam) as "Elhen," and strikes up a conversation about what’s going on in town. Sam also knows about the murder of Alstott, though not anything more than did Ruland. Much to Kay’s satisfaction, Sam mentions that there are many reports that the orcs in the region have all fled back into the mountains, withdrawing from both Hae Kalkas and Sentinel. Some troops have returned home, while others have been sent directly to the Balani Peninsula to fight the Delfirians. But despite this good news, which should be boosting locale morale, everyone seems in a funk. Interestingly, the city-wide malaise predates the death of Alstott by a good month or two.
Before they leave Kallor, the three of them rent rooms in advance for a whole week, at an expensive inn called the Moonspell. Then they teleport back to the Greenhouse.
Morningstar uses another sending spell to contact Vera, an Illuminated Sisters member who serves (discreetly) on the Rhiavonne’s high council in Kallor. Eventually she arranges an in-person meeting for the following afternoon, once she realizes that Vera is not herself a Dreamwalker. Morningstar warns Vera that she is persona-non-grata with the mother church these days, that their meeting should be kept secret, and that Morningstar herself might be invisible, in gaseous form, or both.
Kibi and Grey Wolf spend the hours closed in their rooms, busily transcribing spells from some of their captured spellbooks. Kibi is trying to ink the spell of confusion which itself is a confusing and daunting task. Ernie brings them food every so often, keeping up their strength while they study.
Monday, July 15 - The next morning there is a knock on the door. The man is given the standard "Farazil Light Test" before he leaves his message: that Makel is going to be leaving the next morning at sunrise, and that he’d like the party to be there for his send-off.
At two o’clock, Aravis (with Dranko and Morningstar) are all made invisible before teleporting back to their near-Kallor arrival spot. A few minutes later the diminutive Vera stumbles into the clearing. "Morningstar? Are you there?"
Vera confirms much of what the party has already learned about what’s going on in Kallor. While she herself doesn’t feel the uneasiness as much as some, High Priestess Rhiavonne feels it most acutely. She does have some additional tidbits that the party has not learned. For one, the body of Alstott, as well as the evidence taken from his home, are being held in the constabulary. This was on the orders of Stersa, one of Rhiavonne’s inner circle. Stersa had found evidence among Alstott’s possessions that he had been planning an assault on the Church of Ell itself! Vera doesn’t think that the Black Circle has infiltrated the Ellish temple, but she promises to keep alert and report anything interesting or suspicious back to Morningstar.
That evening there is another knock at the door, and Eddings lets an old white-haired man into the Greenhouse. He’s well-weathered and liberally scarred, and introduces himself as Sutton, a retired sailor who heard from Makel that the occupants of the Greenhouse were looking to hire a navigator for their ship. He is friendly, garrulous, willing to cross verbal swords with Dranko, and though astonished by things like Aravis’ eyes, Kibi’s familiar, and the odd monster bits in the trophy case, he takes it all in stride. He says that although Makel withheld details, he fully prepared Sutton for some strange things. Sutton has been comfortable retired for a few years, since he sold his ship the Speeding Scallop, but the sea has been calling him, and he’s been looking for a unique opportunity to get back in the water. The party (possibly excepting Dranko) loves him and his attitude, and agrees to hire him on the spot. He says he’ll be waiting at home for when they need him.
Tuesday, July 16- At sunrise the party heads down to the Temple of Brechen, perched on the edge of the harbor. There is a small crowd of priests and priestesses gathered, as Makel’s ship Harbinger is being readied for a long voyage. Makel sees them and waves them over to the edge of the water and meets them there.
"I’m glad you came," he says. "I’d hate to have missed you before I go."
Ernie has brought him – of all things – some fish to eat on his journey. "I know you’ll probably be sick of it," he says, "but this is better cooked than what you’ll have on your trip."
Makel’s expression betrays many conflicting emotions: sorrow and happiness, excitement and fear. He still doesn’t know where his voyage will end. In a choking voice he thanks the party for everything they’ve done for him; for rescuing him from the bottle, for giving him a purpose in life, and for bringing him back from the dead, which will allow him to pursue this mission for Brechen.
"And… I don’t know this for certain, but… I don’t… I don’t think I’ll be seeing you again."
"Oh, c’mon, sure you will," says Dranko encouragingly. But an uncomfortable silence hangs in the air before Makel speaks again.
"If I don’t leave now, I’m liable to start crying in front of all these people. Take care of yourselves."
And he walks back up the gangplank and onto the deck of the Harbinger. At once a sweet wind picks up and blows around the harbor. It fills the ship’s sails, and sweeps Makel away toward the horizon and out of sight.
A few hours later, when most of the group is back in the Greenhouse, Skorg comes in the door. He’s been out visiting various taverns and getting a feel for the city, and heard an interesting bit of news. It seems that the city of Calnis, which had been practically encased in crystal for many months (and presumably taken over by an Eye of Moirel inhabiting the body of a gnoll), has become open again. The crystal has vanished, and forces are being sent in to investigate, and see what is left of the place.
The party’s first assumption is that this is directly due to the death of Restimar and the general withdrawal of humanoid forces in recent weeks. The other explanation, of course, is that someone managed to enter the city and defeat the Eye-gnoll. There is no further information to advance either of these possibilities.
…to be continued…
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