The Twilight Tussle with Totfram - Session 5

Session 5 - 05/12/2024
***the story so far***
We remember that Dr Motby had huddled away in the first car, and console him, letting him know the attack is over.
We take a short rest.
As we pull into the Mellerst Rail Station, the guards are shocked to see a hole blasted in the side of car 36B.
We get paid in 5 SP each, and are unleashed in the city of Utdanning.
There's a few important districts to be aware of:

Kappi Research Institute, the campus to the North

Meadtown, surrounding us all around

Leikskalar, the sporting district, approximately to the East, and

Warehouse Isle, where most of the freight comes in

Roger and I start heading to Meadtown, wandering over. There's a lot of square, wooden buildings, multi-tiered roofing, and highbrow windows. This is timber building, with stone foundations - basements are unclear. Being strapped for cash and in desperate need of a bag, Roger and I study the trashcan.... until Roger decides to take the trashbag. With the trashbag (think potato sack), we head to the bakery to beg for Elven Bread. It's a little humdrum kinda bakery, first story of someone's house. We step into Gronk's Stronk Bread. The Goliath shopkeep tells us he doesn't give out any bread for free. Roger and I step outside to confer.
Diaga splits off in hopes to find some odd jobs around town - she wanders away to the northern end to the city, and notices a network of tunnels underground - this seems to be the only way into the campus district.
Roger comes up with the idea of using a summoning trick, sending owls into the shop, grabbing bread in each talons.
Being intrigued by this idea, I tell Roger I wanna see this in action.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ALIGNMENT CHANGE: True Neutral -> True Neutral +3 to CHAOTIC NEUTRAL
Roger sends in the owls and manages to get:

2 loafs of bread

After we get away, I watch one of the owls simply go "POOF", and I remark to Roger how neat the little trick is - Roger indicates its a 'family secret'. I bid my adieu to Roger, and start heading for the Kappi Research Institute.
The main way to get in appears to be a lift, which can only be accessed via some tunnels - I have to go find Jarl's Lift. I navigate the tunnels despite the signs pointing to deadends, and I find a platform entrance that's sort of like a subway station - there's a figure that's acting at the terminal controls who definitely appears to be someone that *shouldn't* be messing with the controls. I attempt to duck back into cover and trip flat onto my face, alerting the strange figure. I try to cast Poison Spray, but the figure makes some kind of hand gesture that fizzles out. It turns out this figure is a student, wearing a mask, who has been struggling with his pass and managing the controls of the terminal station. I offer to scan his pass to see if it works, and the scanning stone turns violently red - its abundantly clear the pass is invalid. I explain this to the student, and he heads off, but there's blood dripping from his mask. The student proclaims he gets nosebleeds when stressed, but I'm not sure he's telling the truth. I warily hand the student back his pass, and I Mark the Scent of the student's blood.
I manage to bump into Diaga, who tells me about what she's been up to.

Diaga is looking for Totfram, a lot of arcthestics and mechanical parts and tattoos, a member of the Raseri Clan, who has a blood feud with the Visindi Gang.

Diaga also says Dr Motby is looking for anesthetics, who told Diaga that the Raseri Clan is messing up with the shipments (who has offered discounts on arcstetics and frameworks).

Diaga ask for my help, and I oblidge. I tell Diaga about the encounter I had with the figure, and I suggest we go track them down for a potential lead. We enter the tunnels again, and manage to track down the figure, who turns out to be Uta, the very same "professor" that Diaga met earlier!! Diaga is suspicious - Uta was exiled from the campus, but is trying to get something from their office. As we intimidate Uta, they give us +1 silver SP each.
Diaga, Roger, and I head eastward to Leikskalar to try and meet someone in the Visindi Gang - this area is very flat, with large concrete structures, almost boring in a way, but vast, as the large arenas made of concretes and ornamental metals blanket the landscape. Our intuition leads us to a high-rise building, with a bar on the rooftop - this is rumored where members of the Visindi Gang inhabit on their nights. We take the elevator up, and its a very open bar, with a bar directly across from the elevator. We make our way to the bartender.
Roger gets an unsettling feeling about the members of this bar, and despite Diaga trying her best to prevent an all-out brawl, the bartender pulls out an entire barrel of ale so Roger and the dwarf can engage in Glima - it seems like the goal is to not drown.... what a weird game.
Roger magically pulls the dwarf to him and shoves his head face-down into the barrel of ale. Impressed, the dwarf gives us the info we want

Totfram was last seen running drugs east.

To eastern Leikskalar we head off to, traveling just off the main road.
< BEGIN BATTLE 5 - THE LEIKSKALR EASTERN AMBUSH >

I hand Diaga one of my Firebombs >>>> -1 Firebomb (+1)

As I transform into a Dire Wolf, it seems like the guards have heard Roger and I.

Diaga runs forward to firebomb two of the back henchman, and then immediately engages Totfram.

Trotfram immediately brings down a sickle down onto Diaga and manages to miss, but steps back, shoots a dart out of his eye, and whips out a pair of glasses.

The henchman surround Diaga, and one manages to shoot Diaga with fire.

Roger and I double-team one of the minions, but Trotfram steps aside, and fires a poison dart that strikes my Wolfy Self - I become Poisoned.

The henchman in front of me tosses out a device that blinds my Wolfy Self - this is not gonna be good qwq

My Wolfy Self manages to locate the nearest henchman (he's right in front of me!) through the Keen powers of Hearing and Smell - I chomp in front of me, and manage, blindly, to sink my jaw on the henchman, gnashing on his arm.

I hear Roger fire off a spell, but it sounds like it didn't go very far.

I try to chomp at my enemy again, but it seems like they're not there? They must have moved... wish i could see

I hear the wails of Diaga, the clunk of his heavy armor colliding with the ground.

As I sniff out my enemy, my eyes adjust to what i see in front of me - Diaga is down, Roger doesn't look too good, and we've managed to knock down only 1 of the enemies.

Regaining my vision, I run forward to grab Diaga with my mouth, manage to successfully scoop up Diaga, and dash away into the woods, with Roger quickly following behind.

Totfram taunts us, and calls off his goons, hitting me once more.

Roger attempts to fire an Eldritch Blast at Totfram, and nails him square in the chest - this gives us hope.

I move to drop off Diaga down, and then lunge forward with all my might, striking Totfram with my Bite.

Totfram swings large, striking me hard, making the fatal blow to knock me out of My Wolfy Self.

I fall out of Wild Shape, exhausted, but fired up and ready to fight on.

Roger, in an act of incredible character growth, goes over to Diaga and heals them - Diaga comes sputtering back to life.

Diaga, siezing the opportunity, plants a large shield to provide cover to Diaga and Roger.

Feeling the surge of battle, I transform into a Giant Hyena, and attack at Totfram once again, managing to bring him unconscious (!!!!!!!! A HUUUUUGE UPPERCUT)

Sensing the fleeting opportunity of battle as Totfram's minions close in on us, I grab Totfram in the jaws of my Giant Hyena, and *run* away. Diaga and Roger quickly follow - we took a beating, but we accomplished our mission!

< END BATTLE 5 - THE LEIKSKALR EASTERN AMBUSH >
As we rush back to civilization, we're presented with a deep conundrum - we need a place to lay low, in Warehouse Isle. With no real options, we head to Uta's flat. As we drag Totfram's lifeless body up the stairs, we make our way into Uta's flat, who greets us there as we plow through. We sling Totfram's body to the ground, and tie him up, and also cover his eyes.
We gain a spoon from Uta.
Uta tells us she can get what information she needs from Totfram now, and puts on the mask we saw earlier, blood pouring out, as Uta collapses inside her apartment.
I inspect Uta's mask, and realize this is Geomancy at work. The mask seems to be able to provide the Wearer with some kind of information, at a cost of something. This would help explain why Uta was bleeding, and eventually got knocked out.
I presume that the enchantment on this mask is: Mountebank's Mask.
I use Goodberry to help heal Uta, and give some to Roger and Diaga. Roger doesn't like berries.... Odd.
As Uta heads to bed, we rest, exhaustingly, Totfram by our side unconscious, as the morning will bring an additional challenge.