Session 43: The City of Slowpass Report

General Summary

Exploring the Graveyard

The party stood in the now quiet graveyard, dead serpents before them.   There were 3 buildings around them, two tombs and one which turned out to be an ossuary. In addition, the hole in the ground led into a series of small passages. Through a combination of Fidget crawling and Rukk Badgering they established that there were eggs which looked to have hatched down there. Many, large eggs. There was no sign of what exactly came out of them though.   As they searched the area they also found the skull of what looked like a Yuan Ti Warforged, cruel and violent looking. They established that its head had been removed with a shadowy axe. Bholin was happy to speak with this dead head and it informed them that it had been nothing but a soldier and that its leader had been someone called Galanthis. It did not know much else.   As well as this skull they also found two other warforged skulls, 1 which looked like it had been patched and mended badly throughout its life, and the other one large and brutal looking with metallic tusks erupting from the lower jaw. They took all 3.   The other tomb, clearly undisturbed for many years, held the inscription "To the Unknown Soldier, the Shadow at our Backs". Tarvy tested the door, and, surprisingly, it opened before him. He stepped inside, where there was no body, only a cloak hung over a plinth. As he reached out to touch the cape, to all the others, he vanished.   From his perspective he was consumed in welcoming shadows. He met with "The Unknown Soldier", a warrior who may have fought at Rivercross Fork. He seemed to act as an emissary for The Forgotten.   He gave Tarvy the choice of what he wanted to do, whether to embrace the Forgotten and all that that entailed, or he could reject it outright. Tarvy chose to accept and the Soldier fastened the cloak about his neck.   Shortly thereafter, Tarvy emerged from the tomb, clad in this cloak of shadow which seemed to bow to his will, granting him the ability to pull shadows to him.   This done, the party dismissed their guide and made quick tracks for Slowpass.

The City of Slowpass

After a couple of hours travel, the group saw the city of Slowpass ahead of them, a large city, well-fortified with thick walls as might be expected of an independent city on the borders of the badlands.   They also saw that the large gates to the city were closed, and that the Slowpass Boys were encamped outside the city.   They rested overnight outside the city, and, as morning came, they heard a bell ring above the gate as they slowly creaked open. Emerging from inside was a Tiefling woman along with a handful of guards. They asked their business and, upon hearing they were of the Fulcrum, told them to follow her, just the 5 of them, the High Curator wished to speak with them.   They were led through the city, at first through tall, elegant buildings of stone and wood before entering into an enormous open marketplace, immense colourful tents as far as the eye could see, covering at least a third of the city's area. This, they were told, was the Market of Souls, where anything could be bought for the right price.   Making their way around the outskirts of the market, past various boarding houses and inns, it was noticeably quiet, little trade happening in what must, at one time, have been an incredibly bustling marketplace.   They were led further in and between more buildings before emerging into another, smaller, square dominated by one enormous, at least 100ft tall, building which looked more like a temple than a place of governance.   Making their way inside they were greeted by a Lavish interior, gold filigree bedecking much of the interior, beautiful carpets, marble and velvet among the materials used, a gorgeous place, reeking of wealth.   In the centre of this room a woman was writing in a large tome. She was informed who they were and asked that they wait a little as someone else was being seen currently.   In the waiting room was another individual, a dwarf with beautiful golden beard, also dressed in lavish garments. He was not best pleased at the party's presence but was not wholly rude to them. They were informed that he was of the Fusebreath clan, a clan specialising in things of an explosive nature, he said that if they had business they could drop by his clan's shop in the marketplace.   After a few further minutes of waiting, the party saw a group of grey , leather clad individuals walking out of the audience chamber, tiefling men and women, at least one of them tattooed with the Crone's Wheel. They left the building without so much as a word.   The party were then invited in to the inner chamber.

Jekaa the Magnificent

The chamber they were brought into was, if anything, more lavish than they foyer they had just come from. Behind a large, marble desk sat an elf blood, slim and spry and he greeted them happily, introducing himself as the Curator.   Lurking in a corridor beyond was another man, huge and muscled (much bigger than Thrack) with reddish skin and slight glow to his skull.   Jekaa, the Curator, was very welcoming, even if the party were given vibes that there was more than met the eye, and informed them that they were a fascinating group and he was happy to meet them.   Eventually, after many pleasantries, he informed them that he would have their help in dealing with problems that had been plaguing his city from within, causing those who he sought to protect to feel fear and sewing a general feeling of paranoia among his citizens. He also said they could start looking by talking to Ros, the barkeep at the Devil's Den in the centre of town, or by talking to some of those Crone worshippers (who he did not like and would rather were not there). In exchange he offered a potential alliance as well as perhaps a gift from his collection.   The party agreed and set out to accomplish what he had asked.     Next Session Start: The Party is emerging from the High Curator's Manse into the city of Slowpass.