Aleria Campaign / The Seekers / Murder on the Spice Road / Eire the 21st through Galen the 1st, 3592 CE / 10-27-19

General Summary

Lieutenant Sloanan callls four of his Seeker agents into his office, where they are surprised to learn they are meeting with High Captain Ambrose Varis. The aging commander of the Seekers tells them that he has received word from Arqadin that an old friend and mentor, Seeker Captain Torgo Minkeer, has passed away, and that a contingent of Seekers from Lokar was requested to help complete the captain's final wishes, to have his body transported across the Arqadian desert to his hometown of Rakeeth. The four Abicenian Seekers; the paladin Sir Plith, the cleric Carsola, the rogue Leyola, and the monk Art, travel across the Sea of Sorrows and then up the River Pasha to Polus, an oasis town in Arqadin where Captain Minkeer had his Seeker station. There they meet with Minkeer's own crew; Ruddigore the wizard, Dala the bard, Fluffy the brawler, and another monk named Darrio. The two teams of Seekers head to Minkeer's home to collect his body, only to catch members of the Scions of Anubhak in the act of attempting to steal and defile it. A fight breaks out, with these Scions, recruited from Polus's leper colony, falling easily before fist and blade. But even though they have now secured Minkeer's body, the cleric, Carsola, worries that the gruesome fight has exposed them to the threat of the terrible disease. Searching for a caravan to accompany to Rakeeth, the Seekers learn that only one remains in Polus and will be leaving imminently, a caravan belonging to an Arqadian noblewoman named Jamila. She agrees to allow the Seekers to join the group, but warns Sir Plith and Carsola that their heavy armor will only hinder them. She introduces the party to the other two main contingents of the caravan, a weapon trader from Xeliash named Sir Kaspar and his Arqadian partner Mamut, and Lorthu the oread, now a water merchant travelling with his trust servant, Atmar. It is during their second day on the route known as the Spice Road that a violent sandstorm kicks up, making it difficult for the Seekers to see the caravan ahead of them. In addition, with the sandstorm comes bandits, goblin and hobgoblin raiders, who assault the Seekers and Lorthu's contingent. The Seekers are able to route the bandits, though at the cost of several camels and one of Lorthu's men. Having now completely lost sight of the rest of the caravan, they do the best they can with the help of Lorthu's knowledge of Arqadin to follow a northeasterly path in the direction of Rakeeth. After two more days and no sign of their missing travel companions, the group reaches the Tor Mountains, which Lorthu tells them is a good sign. However, they also discover the body of Mamut, stabbed in the back by one of his own daggers, an ill-omen for the fate of the rest of the caravan. Finding a mountain pass to take as a shortcut, the party passes a massive stone idol carved into the cliff face that Sir Plith identifies from his religious studies as the Dowager Shrine, an ancient pagan religious icon said to represent the "widow of a god." With sharp eyes the party spots the harpies who have nested within the caves formed from the eyes and mouth of the massive stone idol, and steer well clear of it. Soon they have reached the point where the mountain pass meets the Shattered River, and are astounded to see that the caravan has been taken prisoner by more of the same bandits, this time lead by Sir Kaspar himself. Spotting Jamila, Sir Plith and Ruddigore are able to secretly alert her to the Seeker's presence, at which point she activates a previously unknown magic item, a ring of djinni calling, to summon a djinni who proceeds to tear through the ranks of the bandits. With this advantage on their side, the Seekers charge the bandits from their hidden position among the rocks, and soon the bandits are routed and the prisoners freed. With Sir Kaspar now their prisoner, the Xelish knight reveals that his full name is Kaspar D'Mur, brother of the pirate Darius D'Mur, whom Sir Plith and Carsola helped slay in Ortok. He admits that he orchestrated the request to have Seekers from Lokar sent to Polus, hoping to use it as an opportunity to get revenge on the ones who killed his brother. Jamila then reveals to the Seekers that she is in fact a janni, an elemental being, who had been Torgo Minkeer's secret partner and lover for many years. She had learned of a plot to disrupt trade on the Spice Road, and had planned this caravan with Torgo in an attempt to out the mastermind behind the bandits, but when Torgo died, she was relieved to learn that his fellow Seekers would be taking his place. Now that Sir Kaspar has been captured and his bandits dispursed, the rest of the journey to Rakeeth goes smoothly. After Torgo Minkeer receiveves a hero's funeral in his hometown, Jamila thanks the Seekers for their help, stating that with the death of her love, she has little reason to remain on the material plane. As a parting gift, she bestows upon them the ring of djinni calling, saying it is a gift to the Seeker organization that Torgo dedicated his life to, and pledging them to use it wisely. All seems well for the time-being, until Darrio and Sir Plith begin displaying the first physical signs of leprosy...

Rewards Granted

Ring of Djinni Calling

Character(s) interacted with

Sir Plith, Carsola Montewar, Leyolas, Rotiart Amai (Art), Fluffy the Gnawer, Ruddigore (Gillivan) the Astounding, Dala (Luckfoot) the Charming, Darrio Swiftfist, High Captain Ambrose Varis, Lieutenant Sloanan, Begarri, Jamila, Sir Kaspar (D'mur), Mamut, Lorthu, Atmar, Scions of Anubhak, drovers, goblin & hobgoblin bandits, harpies, a djinni, Captain Torgo Minkeer (corpse)

Report Date

27 Oct 2019