Session 36: The Behirian Market

General Summary

Finding themselves awakened to another warm and busy day in the city of trade. Nakor noticed that during the night, the baby that was Um had grown into a seventeen-year-old. Letting the boy sleep, Nakor alone went down to have breakfast with Conn and Jeanne. Together they discussed how to spend these coming five days, as they waited for the enchantress. Jeanne and Nakor decided that they were going to try and find the person who had thrown acid at them the day before. Conn just wished to put up some poster, which could help him find his compatriots. They also decided that Um would go with Conn. Thus they split the party for the day and wouldn't reunite until midnight.   Conn and Um had a relatively uneventful day. After Conn had awakened the changeling, he began to pester him with questions. Um was reluctant to answer, and as such the questioning continued as they headed out. After a while, the changeling made an attempt to escape. By manipulating time, he got some distance from the half-elf, and made a break for it. Conn got stumbled by some traders and fell, letting the changeling run far enough to, for the first time since they met, use his innate ability to change into the appearance of a local. Conn tried to look for him but inevitably gave up. But Um continued to follow the half-elf, which was nothing new for the revolutionary who inevitably took notice and confronted the figure. After taking a pause to think, he made a humming sound. Um made a show that he had never heard such a name, which revealed his true identity for Conn. After this Um began to open up to Conn and after a while, they were on their way to get some food before heading back to the Pen for some drinks. And so they drank until midnight.   Nakor and Jeanne on the other hand had a very eventful day. The two made some stops where they bought some dark blue maces, and when they arrived at the street where they had been attacked, Jeanne revealed her plan to take on the appearance of Hellknights from the Order of the Scourge. She meant to use their intimidating reputation to get the answers she craved. Nakor was willing to play along. They used some trickery to make their clothes take the appearance of black armour. As they entered the street, the people cleared out, locking themselves in their homes. By doing some good cop, bad cop shenanigans, the two got a name of a group. The Firelights. This wasn't enough, and later that day they returned, now disguised as an old crippled beggar, and as a local. Nakor, who was the beggar, entered the street and began to beg, resulting in of the men who tried to rob them approaching and giving him two silver coins. The man was adamant about the people aiding each other.   That's when Nakor used some trickery to make it sound like the Hellknight versions of them were returning. The people scattered and Nakor managed to be invited into the home of the robber, and Jeanne made it into the home of a woman. Nakor managed to find out more about the Firelights. He managed to get the password to get their aid, as well as their general signalment, an orange scarf. Jeanne tried to warm the woman up to the idea of requesting the help of another knightly order, which was met by a fearful rejection, as the woman asked her to leave. The two reconvened some way down and shared what they had found.   They made their way further into the Nightstalls, as night began to fall. There, Jeanne kept her distance as Nakor approached and engaged with a Firelight. He asked for aid and a better life, to which the gang member offered a chance to leave Ashdrabad for the more fertile and less dense lands to the southwest. Nakor accepted and was led into some back alleys, and finally through a gate, which took them down some stairs. In the end, he found himself in a large, warehouse-like hall. An underground market, that was guarded by men wearing blue snakeskin on their armour. Jeanne had followed him along the way and stayed hidden some distance away. Nakor was led through the market and into a room with other poor folks that seem to have asked for the Firelights help. In order to discuss their findings, Jeanne disguised herself as a Firelight and with some magical aid from Nakor, she snuck past the guard and into the room.   Both of them found the situation suspicious, but Nakor was willing to see it to the end. As they discussed, two blue snake-skinned-armoured guards entered and asked a younger woman for aid. Their leader, called the Great Wyrm, needed her aid with a mission of great importance and she would of course be allowed to board their next vessel out of the city. Nakor and Jeanne found this even more suspicious, and Jeanne left to fetch backup. She sent someone to get Conn and Um as well, as she ran to the frankonian embassy to get the aid of the Golden Company.    Whilst she was away, the guards entered again and asked this time for a magic caster. Nakor, curious as to what was happening, rose and offered his help. He was taken to a hidden room on the other side of the market. This door led to a staircase leading even further down and to another stone door. Through this door, Nakor found himself in a dark room as the stone door shut behind him. Then the ground began to move, as a huge blue snake-like being with twelve legs crawled towards him. The creature thanked him for offering to be his food for the evening. He then swallowed Nakor before the man could react. Not happy with this Nakor transformed himself into a Hydra, which made the Behir swell up and spit him out again. Also an airheaded clone of Nakor showed up in the corner and began to scribble on the wall. The Behir unleashed a breath of lightning at the hydra, which forced it back into the form of Nakor. The fight continued as Nakor turned into his angelic self and then into an Osylyth. Yet again the Behir forced him back into his own form. In the end, it managed to corner the prince and blasted him with its lightning breath, making him black out.'   In the meantime, Jeanne had managed to gather five soldiers of the Golden Company and as they entered the Nightstalls, they met up with the drunk Um and Conn. They had been drinking until midnight when Um suddenly aged up to 67 years old. That's when a messenger sent by Jeanne arrived. Together they went after Jeanne down into the hidden market. When they entered, all but Um clad in armour with weapons drawn, the snake-skinned-armoured men gathered to meet them as the patrons fled with their goods. They found themselves severely outnumbered but not necessarily outmatched. The guards offered to take them to their leader. They agreed and showed down the same cave as Nakor. There they arrived just in time to witness the Behir blast the prince, making him fall to the ground. Um sprung into action and began to move as if time itself was moving faster. He ran up to the prince and healed his wounds, as the half-elf pulled out the horn he had taken from the dragon and blew it. eight spiritual beings of ancient killbarrian soldiers materialized around him. As Jeanne shot an arrow right into the neck of the snake, it scanned the room and made a connection.    The behir fled up the walls and cowered on the roof as it admitted to recognizing them as the dragonslayers of Harasan. It wanted no trouble with them and offered them safe passage out of the market, as well as its full cooperation should they wish it. They agreed to leave as long as the behir promised to stop eating people and stick to cattle and the sorts. They left the cave and found that the Golden Company soldiers had met some resistance at the market, but as Conn and his small unit arrived the guards fled. They continued up and out of the hidden market, somewhat undecided on how to continue from here.