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Message: <blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 4273467" data-attributes="member: 11">Session #22 – “Intrigue & Alarm” (part 4 of 4)Ralem, the 22th of Keent - 566 H.E. (637 M.Y.)Four days after they received their last share of the treasure converted and sold-off by Euleria, the Signers of the Charter of Schiereiland gathered in the common room of Death & Taxes to celebrate their success.  Dunlevey and Falco had been paid, and the latter took off soon after without saying good-bye.  Timotheus tried to convince Dunlevey the Swordsman to stick around, but the sell-sword shook his head.“Hey, I think you’re a stalwart companion and a good boss, but… Well, no offense, but all your companions as real pricks…” Dunlevey told him.  “I have nothing against you… You ever go your own way and plan to put something together, come find me…”“Where will you go next?” Timotheus asked.“Not sure…”“Well, you should try <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Schiereiland" target="_blank">Schiereiland</a>,” Tim told him. “I can write you a quick letter of recommendation, and if you go to <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Chalkour" target="_blank">Chalkour</a> you are sure to get work if you go and see my father’s man at <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/High+Talon" target="_blank">High Talon</a>.”Dunlevey seemed to like the idea, and so Timotheus did just that. In the meantime, the sell-sword went around to bid the rest of the group good-bye, and getting blessings and well-wishes from Victoria and Telémahkos.On this night, the common room of Death & Taxes was louder and more packed than ever.  The party had started earlier than usual, and after having their dinner up in their suites, Markos, Telémahkos, Timotheus, Bleys, Victoria and Laarus went downstairs to join the festivities.  Laarus and Bleys’ training was done, and Markos had spent a lot of time trying to find out more about the situation at the docks when he was not buying needed components, or locked away in one of the suites copying spells into his spellbooks, and studying his arcane tomes and notes.  Telémahkos and Timotheus slept late, practiced their swordsmanship and went out to taverns nightly, tasting from the taps all over Sluetelot.“Ladies and gentleman! Your attention please!” Floris Tenbrook stood from his card game with a flourish when he noticed the young nobles coming down the stairs into the common room.  “We are graced with the presence of the young Signers of the Charter of Schiereiland, recently returned from their explorations of the Disputed Territories and slayers of the viscous and voracious landshark whose head now graces the wall of our favorite inn!” He gestured to the mounted head, its mouth open in a fierce gesture, a small bronze plaque beneath it with the party’s names engraved.The revelers cheered and the drinks flowed and music was struck up as they took a table.  Telémahkos had to be restrained from going to dance before the party had shared a drink.“To returning home from the Disputed Territories and to the success of our future journeys!” Victoria Ostrander of Anhur raised her mug and the other five Signers of the Charter of Schiereiland did the same.  “Hear, hear! Hear, hear!”They spent an hour down there, Telémahkos interrupting Timotheus’ retelling of the battles against goblins, ogres and landsharks as he returned from frequent dances with different women. Tim kept pushing drinks towards Bleys, who aside from the one half-filled mug he toasted with, touched no alcohol.  The patrons nodded politely at Laarus and Victoria, not hiding their nervous embarrassment around the priests, and Markos drank more than he usually did.  Laughing when he noticed everyone else laughing and forcing a smile when a townsperson greeted him.Eventually, Victoria, Bleys and Laarus retired for the night, and Markos sat by himself in a corner drinking for another hour before he followed, spending time with his book by candle light before finally going to sleep.  Timotheus and Telémahkos had no intentions of sleeping any time soon.  The revelry went on all night, Telémahkos taking part in several hands of cards, letting people win big off of him to spread good cheer and then winning a big pot to get close to breaking even.  Timotheus tried some clumsy drunken dancing, but ended up whispering with two giggling women on one of the couches at the rear wall of the common room.As dawn approached, Timotheus finally went upstairs, carrying two bottles of wine and his arms linked with the two lusty wenches, who kept cooing over his muscled arms and broad chest.  He brought them into the suite common room and after a few more drinks he let them have their way with him. Telémahkos was not done. He drowned his annoyance at not being able to duplicate his cousin’s luck in more ale and wine, and greeted Ra’s Glory with a heart-rending song he was certain would win him some attention from a woman, but most seemed unwilling to give him the kind of attention he wanted, and others frequent insistence he buy them drinks made him suspicious.  But the revelry did not abate, an even as the sun was creeping into the sky and cocks were crowing and some of the eager tradesmen were setting up their stalls in the nearby market, another group of musicians arrived and started up an energetic tune.  Revelers followed them from a local private party, spilling in happily.Finally, Telémahkos felt exhaustion creeping into his bones, so he climbed the steps to the suites.  As he opened the door to the suites he had been staying at he heard the tell-tale moan from within the common room of the suite that told him his cousin would probably not want to be interrupted.  Sighing with annoyance, he let himself into the other suite and taking off his trousers and loosening his blouse, he laid out on the couch to try to sleep.  Sleep did not come.  After Victoria and Laarus awoke and headed out to find some breakfast, he crept into the bedroom and grabbed one of their beds, but sleep still did not come.The two priests felt a mixture of disbelief and disapproval as they walked through the common room out to the market.  The partying was still going on and they recognized several of the people from the night before still going at it. If anything, it was even louder, a little wilder.  There were broken plate and bowls, spilled drinks and raucous laughter.  Two men were arm-wrestling as a crowd cheered.  Floris Tenbrook was still playing cards, a growing pile of silver in front of him. Barton had greeted them frantically trying to clean up after his patrons and keep up with their demands.  He had run out of dinner and had not had a chance to have breakfast prepared.  Apologizing, he had sent them to feed themselves.Victoria and Laarus had to wait until the vendor’s coals got warm enough to heat the slabs of lamb meat he was frying with eggs and thin slices of sour dour bread.“That’s quite a party going on at Death & Taxes…” the vendor said making conversation as they waited.“Is it not usually that way?” Victoria asked.“Not quite like that, Ma’am…” the man said.  “They’ve been partying since before I closed up yesterday to go home and sleep… Not that I slept last night… Or the night before…”“Children?” Victoria asked.“Nope. Just couldn’t sleep.” The man shrugged his shoulders, dark circles under his eyes.  They walked back through the common room carrying their breakfast with them. There were even more people.Upstairs Telémahkos was going a little crazy.  No matter what he did he could not fall asleep.  When Victoria opened the door he sat up and groaned, wrapped a blanket around him and walked back across the hall.“Look at this!” He cursed and the militant walked over.  Timotheus lay there on a couch naked and covered in lipstick stains. His clothes were scattered, his money pouch gone. [sup]1[/sup]“He’s supposed to be my bodyguard! He’s useless to me if I’m attacked!” Telémahkos eyes were bloodshot and he grabbed his hair and pulled at it a bit in frustration.Victoria made a little noise in her throat as she looked away and tossed a nearby blanket over the nude brawny warrior. He glistened with the sweat of drunken copulation.  She followed Telémahkos into the back room which Markos and Bleys were emerging from, having just woken up.“There sure do sound like there are a lot of people downstairs for breakfast…” Markos noted. “Is that music I hear?”“It is the same people from last night,” Laarus said, sitting down to have his breakfast in a chair by where Tim still slept.“And the vendor we got breakfast from said he had not slept in the last two nights as well,” The young priest added.“Gaaaaah!” Telémahkos came running out of the rear room.  He slipped his chain shirt on. “It’s no use!” He ran from the suites.“Where are you going?” Victoria called after him.“I don’t know!” He cried back as he bounded down the stairs and out the front door.  The militant shrugged and told the others she was on her way to the smithy to pay the down payment on her armor and from there go to the temple of Anhur.  She gobbled down her breakfast, while Laarus ate slowly. Markos and Bleys went out to get their own food and investigate this strange sleeplessness for themselves.As Markos stepped out onto the patio to take a deep breath of the salt air of Sluetelot, Bleys broke up the party in the inn.“The party is over! Everyone go home!” He announced and while a few people immediately began to file out and the musicians stopped played, looking puzzled, the rest groused and were slow to move.  “When I return I expect all good citizens to have vacated the premises and allowed Mister Digits to clean his tavern and prepare for another day!”As the young watch-mage walked out, he lost sight of Markos in the crowd now streaming out of the inn, and he walked to the stall where Laarus and Victoria had purchased breakfast.  Listening in on people’s conversations as they came out, Markos was distracted, hearing more than one of them complain about not having slept in two or three days.  He walked back in thinking Bleys was still in there.“You! Mutton!” Bleys called to the vendor.“Yeah?” The man looked at him bleary-eyed.  “Would you like something to eat?”“How long have you been awake?” Bleys the Aubergine got right to the point.“Uh, what day is it?” Mutton asked.“<a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Ralem" target="_blank">Ralem</a>,” Bleys replied.“Then… Uh… Since <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Teflem" target="_blank">Teflem</a>?” the man replied.  Bleys the Aubergine followed this up with questions about where the man lived and whether his wife and family had slept.“Well, my wife slept fine the night before, but she didn’t sleep lat night,” the man replied. “Said it was my fault.”The watch-mage moved on to see out any local herbalists in the market, hoping he might find some natural remedy that would help people sleep.  As he walked, he saw Telémahkos run past with a floppy hat decorated with a feather.  He was still acting frantically, looking left and right wildly, and then dashing for Death & Taxes.“People sure are acting strangely this morning,” said the herbalist Bleys purchased some clay vials of something that supposedly helped people to sleep.  She did not have much, so the watch-mage wandered about looking for more.  The herbalist closed early for the day, as she had gouged the watch-mage on the price.  Noticing the well, and deciding to eliminate the possibility early, he checked it for poison with a cantrip.  There was none.Giving up on sleep, Telémahkos walked up to the bar at Death & Taxes to order a drink, but looking up to catch sight of Barton Digits, he noticed the barman pointing him out to one of the town-watch.“You there!” The watchman said, but Telémahkos did not wait to hear what it was about, his eyes going wild with sudden fear. He dashed out the back door.  At that moment Markos came back downstairs from looking for Bleys back in the suites, a little confused.“He’s another one…” Barton said to the watchman, so Markos was approached and given a message to be relayed to Bleys.“Bleys!” It was Markos coming jogging out of the crowd still milling about the inn as he finally spotted his companion  “There was a message for you!”  But before he could relay it, they were both momentarily distracted by a screaming fight between two women in the market.  They could also hear the barking, growling and whining of dogs fighting a few streets away. “One of the town-watch came by looking for you, Captain Firth sent for you… Something is going on at the gaol and you are needed.”“I am sure this is related to this sleeplessness… I have purchased some draughts of a sleeping remedy that may help, though they are made by different hands and have different strengths…  Let us go…” Bleys said.They headed to the gaol, which was in the northern part of Old Town, as not too far away Telémahkos was ducking into the enclosed cellar steps of an abandoned house, hoping to catch some sleep there.  As he sat down with his back to the corner of the doorway, and pulled his newly purchased floppy hat over his eyes, he heard a growl from the top of the stone steps.  Looking up, he saw a large filthy dog looking down at him with malevolence.“Nice dog…” Telémahkos said gently, but he drew his magical rapier and pointed it at the creature.The gaol was square windowless building of large bricks and two stories.  The outer door was thick and made of iron, but it stood slightly ajar, and as Bleys pulled it open he started.  The corpse of one of the town-watch lay just within the doorway, his throat torn out.Back at Death & Taxes, Laarus Raymer of Ra finally finished his breakfast as he heard Timotheus stop snoring.  He looked up as he sensed the brawny Briareus bastard sitting up, but something was not right… Timotheus’ eyes shone a bright red, and his lips were swollen and his mouth disfigured by sharp teeth dripping with yellow saliva.  Timotheus snarled and smiled an evil smile as he started to get up and move towards the priest of Ra with no good intent.  The naked fighter’s flesh seemed to twist and change, and he began to look like someone else.End of Session #22 -------------------------------------------------Notes:(1) I asked Timotheus’ player to simply subtract an amount from his sheet that seemed like a reasonable amount that he would be carrying with him for a night of revelry and carousing.</blockquote>

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