Session 341 - The Assassin and the Lizard Man
General Summary
20th of Saraju (Spring) 727TR
The Story So Far
Cassius, the rugged bounty hunter, Salvador, a wandering priest of Ilvir, and Kara, a half-snow-elf escaped prisoner, are guests in the underground City of Kondasgel in the distant dwarven Kingdom of Kuzjera.
The heroes, including Princess Berda of the Kingdom of Azadmere, start their journey to the City of Jarehm, the Kingdom of Jarenmark. At Jarehm, they hope to get the good priestess of Peoni to exorcise the demonic evil from Berda’s Orb of Midgaard. Their trip is not without incident.
This is the continuation of Session 337 - The Orb of Midgaard.
Location - The hills south of the Kingdom of Kuzjera.
Part 1 – Assassin in the Hills
An assassin conceals himself on a ridge overlooking an ancient stone bridge spanning a mountain gully. The dwarven murderer is covered in tattoos, indicating he is one of the so-called outcasts and criminal "dark dwarves" who infest the warrens away from proper, lawful, and traditional dwarven society.
The assassin targets Berda. His crossbow bolt is poisoned and hits; however, Berda is no dainty princess and has a robust constitution. Although she is hurt and a little woozy, she is otherwise alive. Cassius races after the would-be killer while Salvador attends to Berda with some magical healing. The battle is challenging. The assassin has a few dirty tricks; however, he is disabled in a cloud of toxic gas summoned by Salvador’s Aklash Breath spell and killed.
On his body, there are no clues as to why he wanted to assassinate Berda.
Part 2 - The Mere Dragon
The Kulzjeran hill abruptly ends, dropping into a dense marshland. After slogging through dubious hunter trails, the party hears a cry of anguish and intense high-pitched buzzing. A strange sight beholds them. A large lizard-like creature with humanoid features is swatting away a dozen enormous mosquito-like insects. The bugs are the size of a cat and have a vicious sting; the poor lizard creature is covered in nasty inflamed puncture marks and welts.
The reptile cries for help, and Cassius recognizes the creature as an Ilme. A colony of these so-called mere dragons is in his Harnic homeland. They are generally considered intelligent and peaceful.
The party rushes to assist. The cowardly Ilme is of little help. He spends most of his time diving into the mud to avoid the flying terrors and eventually passes out but is revived by Salvador’s healing magic. The flying insects are soon exterminated by sword and spell.
Part 3 – Viewing Into the Past
Surprisingly, he speaks Harnic well, although with an old-fashioned Thardic accent. The appreciative Ilme has an enormously long name, Stargazer for short, is likable, talkative, and boasts he knows thirty-eight human languages. As a reward for saving his life, he takes the heroes to visit the semi-mummified remains of a human hunter. “This was Olbin," he tells the party, "a good friend, but he got sick after I prepared dinner for him and died. I think he was allergic to the soup. I used too many red and pink spotted mushrooms,” He says sadly. Cassius thinks that that mushroom will likely be a highly toxic poisonous fungus. The party politely turns down his generous offer to cook for them tonight. Olbin's body does have an enchanted Ring of Swiming, which may prove useful.
Stargazer is something of a seer and can Remote View events ongoing and in the past in this world and others. Keen for company and appearing important, the Ilme offers to demonstrate and, after munching on some foul-smelling local weeds, passes into a drug-hazed coma. He is a voyeur watching human interactions in the past and present with great interest. Unfortunately he has only limited control of what he views.
The party asks about the assassin. This time his supernatural senses focus, and he gets a clear response; he sees the past. “The man you describe receiving gold coins from a middle-aged dwarven woman with blonde colored hair.” He tells them but cannot give more details on the woman, humans and dwarves are so hard to tell apart.
After thanking their new friend for his help, the party travels to the Port of Aldeby, and after a week, they board a ship to Jarenmark.
To be continued.NPC Interactions
Stargazer - Ilme seer
Player Characters
Cassius - Human - L10Ranger - Background Bounty Hunter - Archetype Fighter/Beastmaster.
Kara - Half-snow elf - L10Magus - Background Prisoner - Archetype Fighter.
Salvador - Human - L10 Cloistered Cleric of Ilvir (Change) - Background Artist - Archetype Eldritch Researcher/Druid/Bard.
NPC Character Status
Berda - Dwarf - L10 Fighter - Background Noble - Archetype Sentinel.
