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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zad" data-source="post: 3150172" data-attributes="member: 90">Flood Season - Chapter 3Flood Season – Chapter 3OOC Notes:Exp this session is 1000 exp.This Week’s Adventure:The Blue Tygers returned to the Drunken Morkloth with Jenya in the coach. Jenya was only able to provide sketchy directions to the Lucky Monkey. Given we would be riding at night in the rain to an unfamiliar area, it seemed wise to get something more precise. Having just met someone who ran a map shop, there was an obvious way to solve that problem, and they had the carriage driver detour to Bolar Westkey’s shop. The gnome had just returned and was happy to do the small favor of opening up long enough to sell an appropriate map. Once at the inn, the group quickly equipped themselves for the trip. At least most of them did. Glyphandar was given a message upon his arrival at the inn, and his elders were demanding his immediate presence. The rest of the group got dressed and set out into the night.It was dark, cold, wet, and generally unpleasant. The horses were kept to a walk for the first several hours until the rising sun turned the landscape a lighter shade of grey and we picked up the pace to speed our arrival. Just after sunrise, we passed a troop of baboons in a clearing. Upon seeing us, they stopped and stared. We watched them but the baboons did not attack and once we were past them, they went on their way. I wasn’t sure if this was normal behavior for such animals but it was certainly disturbing.Both the horses and their riders were nearly exhausted by the time they arrived at the Lucky Monkey. It was a massive structure and looked old and well used. The roof sagged slightly but not unsafely, the siding was weathered and stained, and covered in carvings of monkeys attempting various risky acts. But there were signs of problems too – windows were smashed out, and there was a fresh spray of blood across the front wall. The earth was torn up as if a large group of men had moved through. Inside we could hear breaking crockery and smashing wood. And just a little singing and drunken carrying-on.The door was barricaded, and Astrid and Elizabeth, favoring a quick frontal attack before being discovered, ripped the door open. It took them a couple tries but the commotion inside seemed to conceal their initial efforts.The main room of the inn was a disaster – broken furniture and mugs everywhere, and no small amount of blood. The noise was the result of several apparently drunken thugs enjoying the spoils of their victory.It took the thugs a few seconds to realize that someone had arrived, and a few more to realize it wasn’t a passing traveler but a serious threat. The knowledge didn’t help them much – the fight was brief and the Blue Tygers showed little in the way of mercy. The thugs, while not incompetent, were drunk and unprepared. Two of them were put to sleep during the fight, not out of any sense of compassion but merely for information. Some of them were dressed in skins and had the mark of folk who lived in the wild, while others were clearly city toughs. All of them wore red sashes though which was suspicious given they were different in almost every other respect.Kris, Bellsin and Maris tied then interrogated the captives while Astrid and Elizabeth began searching around looking for the entrance to the cellar where Sarsen might be holed up. Looking at the general scene, I was becoming convinced that all of Sarsen we would find would be his body.The thugs were uncooperative – either because they weren’t intimidated or because they figured they were dead no matter what; I couldn’t tell. Or perhaps they were stalling. One captive said the kitchen was in the back, and Elizabeth returned to an open courtyard to check the back of the inn. Before she got far, there was howling and yelling, and a half-dozen baboons came from the back and out windows. There were also a few more hired thugs waiting for the right time to attack, and they jumped out once the commotion started.This new attack had the potential to be much more deadly. Elizabeth made a quick fighting retreat back into the common room to avoid being swarmed by the baboons. Then Maris filled the courtyard with webs and it was a fait accompli from there. The apes lacked the intelligence to withdraw or gather up, and attacked haphazardly once they broke free and were easily cut down. The remaining thugs found themselves unsupported and they too met a fast end.It was about this time that we all came to the realization that the red sashes were probably what kept the apes from attacking the thugs. Everyone put on a red sash just in case.Since the inn wasn’t yet safe, the Tygers prepared themselves and moved through a banquet room to the kitchen. Boot met door in the predictable way, but nobody was ready for what was behind it.In the kitchen at a large table was a large… creature. It was half baboon and half man. His face was pierced, tattooed, and scarred. On the table a severed head sat among a large pile of tongues. Near the fire pit, the assembled treasures of the inn and the patrons had been neatly sorted. And blood was everywhere.“What’s this?!? Would-be rescuers come to see Tongue-eater?!? What do you have to say about that, priest?” This last was directed at the severed head on the table, and everyone’s heart sank. The baboon drew a long falchion and screeched. Unnoticed in the shock were several baboon guards with him and they grunted and moved in.We moved into the room, determined to add this creature’s blood to the carnage. One baboon moved to block Astrid’s entry and she crippled it with a thrust of her halberd. Elizabeth began moving towards Tongue-eater but another baboon stepped in front over her. Elizabeth stepped in and brought her blade around and up into the creature’s gut in a long gash and it fell aside limp. This cleared the way for Astrid to rush Tongue-eater, and rush him she did. She came at him hard, brought her halberd in low then reversed her swing and brought the head in a powerful arc right at Tongue-eater’s head. The creature’s blade had gone low to block and his head was utterly exposed to Astrid’s fierce blow. The halberd landed, and Tongue-eater’s head split open like a melon.[OOC: A 4th level fighter crit and hit for 55 damage. Tongue-eater was apparently a were-baboon but the DR was utterly irrelevant in the face of that hit.]The remaining baboons shook and immediately fled. I couldn’t say for sure if it was fear or if some compulsion was now broken.  If there had been any other human attackers, I suspect they also fled. The inn was now safe, but the damage was done.The kitchen held stairs that lead to the basement, and the basement door was smashed open. In the cellar were casks and barrels, and the dirt floor was soaked with beer, mead, and blood. A fierce battle was fought here, and there were several thugs dead on the floor. Against a large barrel was a headless body, wearing robes and still holding a mace. The trappings left no doubt that it was Sarsen. He was wearing fine armor beneath his robes, and the mace had a daunting aura about it – it was surely responsible for much of the damage here. If it was valuable, why had it been left here? The obvious answer was that the enchantments made it too dangerous for the looters. Kris carefully reached down and picked it up and heard a brief fading sound of angels signing as he did.One oddity was a human thug lying near a short tunnel. He was dead, but not from battle. His hand was at his throat, and his mouth and nose were foaming with a brownish liquid. “Looks like brown mold. Or yellow mold. Or was it a pudding?” commented Kris. “Well in any case, it’s nasty stuff.” Down the tunnel was a door but the wood had been warped and distorted and seemed to be braced against the dirt walls. The walls and floors were covered with brown powder.“Hellooooo?” Elizabeth called out. “Anyone down there?”“Go away,” a well-spoken, female voice called back. “You won’t get me without a fight you butchers!”“We’re not with um… well… them. We were sent by the temple of St. Cuthbert to rescue their High Priest. He managed to get a message out. It’s safe now – you can come out.”“How do I know you’re not them and just lying to lure me out?” she called back.“Well we… ah… hm… You have a good point there. I can’t think of any way to prove it really. Not with that mold in the way and all.”The voice thought for a minute. “If you came to rescue the priest, what was his name?”“Sarsen.” two or three people said at once.“Hm. I’m still not sure I trust you,” she said.“Fair enough,” Elizabeth replied. “I’m not sure I would either in your position. We’re going to check the inn carefully for any stragglers but we’ll check back on you in a bit.”The Blue Tygers searched the inn carefully. They found no other attackers. The found a pile of bodies out back – the former innkeepers and guests – each with their tongue removed. They found that Sarsen was still apparently carrying all his other possessions but did not have the wands.Then they had a little heart-to-heart talk with the surviving attackers. Now that they knew everyone was dead, they were far more willing to open up and talk in the hopes of saving their pathetic lives. They were hired muscle – one was recruited in Cauldron, the other a small group of wild men. A woman named Triel hired them – she had flaming red hair, tattoos, a burn scar on her face, and wore spiked plate armor with a symbol of Hextor on it, and a black triangle similar to one we found on the were-baboon. It was black and had a small silver symbol engraved at each corner – Kris identified them as symbols of Vecna, Hextor and Erythnul. Bellsin paused. “Didn’t we hear a rumor from one of the guards during the whole bathhouse thing? Something about a woman recruiting all the alley bashers she could fine?”Kris nodded, “Ayup, I believe you’re right.”The fear started cracking into the thug’s voice. “It was Tongue-eater’s idea to kill everyone, but the woman liked it. She was a bloodthirsty bitch. The priest in the basement was wrecking everyone up with his mace until Triel took care of him, then the monkey took his head off. Triel took something from the priest – said she had what she came for. It was a small bundle wrapped in cloth but I didn’t see what it was. Then she said we could do what we wanted with the rest. The monkey was going to split up the loot.”Astrid was unhappy at the lack of useful information. “Where was she going next?” “I don’t know. She didn’t say.”Astrid slapped him on the head and we all stepped away so as not to be heard. She said “Useless. They made sure the hired hands didn’t know anything useful. It’s a dead end.”Elizabeth nodded. “We’ll have to take Sarsen’s body back and tell Jenya what happened. Captain Skellerang will probably be interested too.”“I’m sure the wands are gone,” I said. “But just to be safe, we should check the entire inn just in case Sarsen hid them somewhere.”The girls couldn’t argue that but tried anyway. “Jenya is going to need to know quickly though.”I let out a wry laugh. “You’re in no shape to travel anyway. You’ve been up for a day and a half with only the sleep you could steal on horseback, and you’re thinking of riding back again now? You girls may be used to that, but look at Maris? She’s barely standing.”They said nothing, and there was nothing to say – there were practically dead on their feet. They gathered in a private room that wasn’t bloody, ate a bit, and then split up to carefully search the inn. The results were expected – nothing. Astrid found a small shrine to Farlanghan which had been smashed. She tried to patch it up as best she could. There was a number of locked safes in the treasury – this inn was as much an outpost as a tavern – but it was all plundered and likely part of the piles in the kitchen. The library was destroyed.When Kris was poking around in the basement, he checked on the lone survivor. “You still ok in there?” he asked.“Yes… I suppose,” she answered him. Then after a pause “I don’t know if you are lying or not. But I’m going to remove the mold. It will probably be the last thing I ever do,” she said, clearly resigned to her death.There was the sound of a string instrument playing from behind the door, and the mold started receding and then disappeared altogether. Kris walked carefully down to the door. It was still completely expanded into the surrounding walls.“Um, what about the door?” he asked.“I can’t do anything about that right now,” she replied. “If you’re going to kill me you’ll have to break it open.”“Well we’re not gonna be killing you but I’ll call the muscle down here and we’ll get you out of there.”Kris called the others down and with a bit of brute force they managed to smash the door in. The room beyond held the well, and little else, except for the girl. Her skin was dark – grey really, and her long white hair didn’t hide her shaped ears or other elven features. There was dried blood on her forehead and her arm seemed to be broken.She was standing but not even ready to offer resistance. Then she started to look at the nature of the plate-clad fighters and the others, and realized that it was true – they were not part of the assault and she might actually be rescued.Kris moved into the room and checked her injuries. “Let’s get you fixed up, little lady,” he said, and cured her.“I… thank you,” she said. “You’re welcome,” Kris said. “I’m Krisfallion,” and he introduced the others.“My name is Shensen Tesseril,” she said, then reading the obvious puzzlement on some of our faces said “I’m half-drow, yes.”She seemed to be expecting revulsion or outrage, or at least bracing for it. All she got was a few looks of “Half drow – wow, how about that, don’t hear that every day” and that was it. “So what happened?” “I’m not sure – I wasn’t here for the whole slaughter. I was out walking and when I returned the attack was underway. I helped where I could, and ended up with Sarsen retreating into the cellar. He held them off and told me to go into the well room.” She was emotional but continued. “He gave his life to give me a chance. I don’t know what happened from there.”Astrid said “We’re going to spend the night here – we were at the Demonskar ball last night and then this happened and Jenya asked us to come straight here. We’re in no shape to travel and despite the gore, the Lucky Monkey is probably safe enough for one night. In the morning we’ll return to Cauldron. You are welcome to travel with us if that is your destination.”In the morning, a cart was prepared from the stables. Sarsen’s body was… reassembled and placed respectfully in the cart, in sharp contrast to the two thugs who were trussed up and thrown in like so much cargo. The other bodies were given a respectful funeral out back. No one saw any point in leaving the valuables at the inn with their owners all deceased, so they took that as well. As they were about to ride away, Elizabeth put a note on the door:“The Lucky Monkey was attacked and the inhabitants killed. The Blue Tyger Legion killed the attacking force but it was too late to prevent what you see here. They have returned to Cauldron to report this tragedy. The inn is closed.”As she hung the note, the rain began with renewed vigor and a biting chill. Without a word, they set off on the road back to Cauldron.It was almost supper time when they reached the city gates. They made straight for the Temple of Saint Cuthbert, while Shensen set off on her own path. “Where are you staying?” she asked. “I have friends here I must speak to.”“You can find us at the Drunken Morkloth,” Bellsin said.“Oh? That’s where I’m heading – my friends are there. I’ll see you there then,” she said.Elizabeth was suddenly intrigued or suspicious. “Oh? We know some people there. Who are you friends?”Shensen seemed to hesitate slightly but then said “I’d be surprised if you knew him. Tyro Amberhelm.”Elizabeth’s suspicions were confirmed. “Oh sure, we know Tyro. Well, you go ahead. We have some unpleasant duties to perform.”After she rode away, Elizabeth and Astrid exchanged grim glances.At the temple, Jenya came quickly and no one said anything – it was clear from everyone’s expression that we had failed. Wordlessly, we walked to the cart, and lifted the cloth that covered the fallen High Priest. Jenya sobbed, and a crack of thunder and lightning split the sky.Jenya recovered herself after a moment, realizing that her worst fears were confirmed and she was now the High Priestess. She had Rufus summon the acolytes to begin preparations to lay Sarsen to his final rest. “Did you find the wands?” she asked.“No,” Astrid replied. “It seems that he was attacked for the wands specifically. As for the rest of his possessions, we have brought you the body as we found it.”Jenya was given a full accounting of the events at the Lucky Monkey. Finally she said “I must consult the Star of Justice. You all must be very tired. Please take some rest and I will speak to you soon. I will have someone take a message to Captain Skellerang with the details of what you described – you need not bother yourselves with that. We can make sure your prisoners are brought to Justice.”The Blue Tyger Legion, soaked, battleworn and weary, entered the Drunken Morkloth. The common room was full of people but there was one table conspicuously empty as if waiting for someone. On the table was a small tile with a blue tiger painted on it. At seeing them, the innkeeper began setting up drinks and food.Apparently we’ve “arrived”, Elizabeth said to me.Some time later, Shensen came down the stairs. She was cleaned up, wearing fresh clothes and looked generally much better. “I wish to thank you all. I am very appreciative of your help. You did much more than you needed to, and I am grateful,” she said. The group offered her a spot at the table but she declined. “I would like to offer you these as a reward for helping me. They are magical boots that will let you run and jump farther. Please accept them without protest – I feel it I must thank you with these.”Protesting was clearly on some people’s minds, but they deferred. Elizabeth and Astrid exchanged looks that I needed no mental powers to understand; they had heard of such magic and how it could help someone in full armor get around the field much more quickly. Shensen withdrew and went to a small stage and began performing. Whether it was for the crowd in general or another form of thanks to the Blue Tygers was hard to say, but it definitely helped ease the burdens and scars that came from the trip to the Lucky Monkey.Loot:2 MW rapiers6 MW longswords6 chain mail6 potions (from hill folk)6 MW steel shieldsMW studded leatherHeward’s handy haversack7 potions (monkeyman)2680 copper1953 silver742 gold18 plat4500 gp of general stuffBoots of striding and springingStay tuned for split info group</blockquote>

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