Session 13: Animaesus and Tarrasques: City of Salt: We Will Burn the Bridge When We Get There: Too big for our bridges?
General Summary
The 16th of Light ends with Birdman, Cotton, and Stryke keeping watch deep below in the tunnels of their melin friend, hoping no more undead and spiders rise. Cotton and Eros stay close to Althea, the remaining drow twin, who is obviously distant and shocked by the death of her sister Adira. During his watch, Stryke prays and meditates about his course of action and what his spirit guardian, Ky'ten might do. Trust his actions, the melin feels, but know the spirt of Adira may not be theirs to command.
In the city, Ssech goes to rest, and Mel prepares her apartment and office for her later interactions with Eros, Birdman, Stryke, Cotton, and Stryke's Children .
On the next morning, the 17th of Light, the group awakes split into three, and we begin with Mealladh Apéthanta who is packing in her apartment. Soon, there is a rapping at her door, and she goes around to the side of the house to sneakily look through the window at who would be so abnormally knocking on her door. The Private Investigator of the City of Salt does not give out her address regularly, not at all. She sees an elderly human, with an armed escort. He looks impatient and eager, and she assumes correctly that this noble is a new client for her. Upon inviting him in, they discuss a job Altopar needs done: find and bring back Eros for him. Mel is able to keep up her guise of not knowing anything of the young bard, and the ranger takes a large gemstone as pre-payment for Eros' capture. Mel agrees to meet back up with the Keeper of Secrets for the 10th House in four days, and then after the wizard goes on his own way, she returns to the tunnels of Stryke and to warn Eros and the others of Altopar's implications: Eros is now disguised as his wife and is trying to take over the 12th House.
Ssech finds himself at Piorvani, Binder-Lord of the 10th House: Drunken Master 's favorite spot, one within his own district, Squarmy's. Here he shares information about Eros, and the binder-lord informs the mage of how his Keeper of Secrets is making moves against the Lord, and thus maybe he wants to assert himself as the first human lord of the 10th House . Although it is a diverse house, it has always been lead by the Putori; the parentage of this goes back to The Walkers who first helped to bring down the Tarrasque. They figure that using Eros as bait to lure Altopar out so that Pio can 'rip his throat out' makes the most sense as a plan, and the binder-lord lets Ssech Draod lead him to the tunnels to meet with Eros.
Since threat of capture and the pressure of the shock of Adira's death still haunts the group below the city, Stryke and Birdman lead Eros, Cotton and Stryke's Children deeper into the tunnels; however, as they near the natural, formerly created spiraling ramp structure that leads just within the walls of the northern part of the City of Salt, a odious, rancid and pungent smell assails their sense of smell; rot beyond thought or reason harnesses like a fog of scent. However, Stryke and Birdman and are able to lead them closer to the scent, worried and curious, for the few days ago that Stryke was traveling through here to ask for Gorgmongr 's insight, there was no so such smell. Vexed still, Birdman uses his ability of the Primeval Awareness, and he begins to sense undead about the city, and a cluster of others lies nearby, to the direction they need to go to. They could turn around and rise above into the city at another place, but there is a much higher likelihood that they will be seen, so Stryke decides against it and leads the party on to the junction to the wall, and then to the grace of the druid Gorgmongr. During this walk, too, Eros shares strength (tries to) with Althea, and Cotton invigorates the same need, but this creates a prompting within Eros to also divulge her own connections to death and loss, and how she caused a fire within her own village, immolating her family in the process. Eros blames herself for these grievous actions with a firm verity.
Outside and above in the city streets, Mel sees Ssech approach westerly to her position, and as the mage Ssech looks for the tunnel opening, he and the investigator Mel notice drow, dwarves, and humans gather in search of hidden tunnels for escape. They go house by hut, alleyway by tent, and are nearing the duo with Pio attached and well hidden under Ssech's clothes. These three talk next steps, and Mel reveals that she can assist with taking down Altopar, and that they would not need to endanger Eros in the process as bait. Pio then leaves them to communicate with Eros, convincer her either to leave the city or get his help against Altopar. They head down below, and they find the spiraled crevass and ramp that leads them in but also what the others were searching for to find their way out.
This is also the origin of the horrid smell.
With the whole of the player characters back together, the group investigates this putrid smelling cavern, and all they find is death: a group of drow had arcane chains around a infant tarrasque, perhaps undead already, and they were stopped by a squad of lupin from the 1st House . This obviously soon went towards fighting, and they lost control of the beast, that was slain by the final lupin standing. It takes the group some time to realize it is a malformed and mutated tarrasque corpse, and by that time, the undead bodies of drow, lupin, and eventually the baby tarrasque as well, all begin to twitch and rise as zombies.
The group moves quickly, using Birdman's torch, and the attacks and assaults directly to heads and spines, and they destroy these monsters quickly before they mob about harming Althea, Leandra, Rhogarr, or Donovan, let alone escaping above to city to cause more havoc and chaos. During the commotion, Leandra runs up to the city, away from the group, wishing to find freedom from this solemnity and death, and dance in the festival as promised beforehand.
The group soon realizes she is missing, and Stryke, Cotton, and Birdman, with Rhogarr and Donovan try to figure out where Leandra and why the young pumthera left them, finding good reason with her dancing in the city as a cause. Moreover, as they begin to craft plans to go after the teenager, Ssech and Mel expound to Eros about how she is a target, and how they have means to help her and maybe even Adira's corpse from rotting and changing, maybe even of resurrection; however, Eros must leave the city, or she must find other means to stay hidden, perhaps joining the 10th house. This prompts Eros to magical send messages to Pio, only confirming his need and want to protect Eros from his crazed Second, Altopar. Additionally, she sends a message to Rexaney Pelago, 13th Binder, Stout Halfling Glamour Bard , and she hopes to use his favor, but he unfortunately informs her that he had Shallowbutter, a lieutenant in the 12th House, come looking for Eros, and Roxana, Dancer of the 13th House offered to go with the drow in place of Eros so that no more violence would be bestowed upon the brothels of the 13th House. Eros, obviously and earnestly, worries over her protege Roxana, but she must first discuss with Mel and Ssech, as well as Birdman, Stryke, and Cotton. Eros then magically disguises herself as female squamata so that over the next hour, while she travels throughout the city to meet with Pio, to not be recognized for her; Altopar is obviously, eagerly waiting for Eros to appear based upon Mel's meeting with him hours before. Mel also disguises herself as a cat-folk, and Ssech changes his flowing robes to a proper suit of the nobles.
These three climb up to eavesdrop on Birdman and Stryke magically messaging each other with the echoes and spirits of the beasts Stryke seems possessed by, where Birdman convinces the badger-man to take care of Adira's body, and the kenku will go find Leandra dancing. He finds her within the hour, near a meeting of the 1st and 4th House Binder Lords, and they are nearly recognized by these masters' goons.
Meanwhile, the others go to the 10th House Lord, Piorvani, Binder-Lord of the 10th House: Drunken Master , and they make a new deal to lure Altopar into a trap within a day.
In the city, Ssech goes to rest, and Mel prepares her apartment and office for her later interactions with Eros, Birdman, Stryke, Cotton, and Stryke's Children .
On the next morning, the 17th of Light, the group awakes split into three, and we begin with Mealladh Apéthanta who is packing in her apartment. Soon, there is a rapping at her door, and she goes around to the side of the house to sneakily look through the window at who would be so abnormally knocking on her door. The Private Investigator of the City of Salt does not give out her address regularly, not at all. She sees an elderly human, with an armed escort. He looks impatient and eager, and she assumes correctly that this noble is a new client for her. Upon inviting him in, they discuss a job Altopar needs done: find and bring back Eros for him. Mel is able to keep up her guise of not knowing anything of the young bard, and the ranger takes a large gemstone as pre-payment for Eros' capture. Mel agrees to meet back up with the Keeper of Secrets for the 10th House in four days, and then after the wizard goes on his own way, she returns to the tunnels of Stryke and to warn Eros and the others of Altopar's implications: Eros is now disguised as his wife and is trying to take over the 12th House.
Ssech finds himself at Piorvani, Binder-Lord of the 10th House: Drunken Master 's favorite spot, one within his own district, Squarmy's. Here he shares information about Eros, and the binder-lord informs the mage of how his Keeper of Secrets is making moves against the Lord, and thus maybe he wants to assert himself as the first human lord of the 10th House . Although it is a diverse house, it has always been lead by the Putori; the parentage of this goes back to The Walkers who first helped to bring down the Tarrasque. They figure that using Eros as bait to lure Altopar out so that Pio can 'rip his throat out' makes the most sense as a plan, and the binder-lord lets Ssech Draod lead him to the tunnels to meet with Eros.
Since threat of capture and the pressure of the shock of Adira's death still haunts the group below the city, Stryke and Birdman lead Eros, Cotton and Stryke's Children deeper into the tunnels; however, as they near the natural, formerly created spiraling ramp structure that leads just within the walls of the northern part of the City of Salt, a odious, rancid and pungent smell assails their sense of smell; rot beyond thought or reason harnesses like a fog of scent. However, Stryke and Birdman and are able to lead them closer to the scent, worried and curious, for the few days ago that Stryke was traveling through here to ask for Gorgmongr 's insight, there was no so such smell. Vexed still, Birdman uses his ability of the Primeval Awareness, and he begins to sense undead about the city, and a cluster of others lies nearby, to the direction they need to go to. They could turn around and rise above into the city at another place, but there is a much higher likelihood that they will be seen, so Stryke decides against it and leads the party on to the junction to the wall, and then to the grace of the druid Gorgmongr. During this walk, too, Eros shares strength (tries to) with Althea, and Cotton invigorates the same need, but this creates a prompting within Eros to also divulge her own connections to death and loss, and how she caused a fire within her own village, immolating her family in the process. Eros blames herself for these grievous actions with a firm verity.
Outside and above in the city streets, Mel sees Ssech approach westerly to her position, and as the mage Ssech looks for the tunnel opening, he and the investigator Mel notice drow, dwarves, and humans gather in search of hidden tunnels for escape. They go house by hut, alleyway by tent, and are nearing the duo with Pio attached and well hidden under Ssech's clothes. These three talk next steps, and Mel reveals that she can assist with taking down Altopar, and that they would not need to endanger Eros in the process as bait. Pio then leaves them to communicate with Eros, convincer her either to leave the city or get his help against Altopar. They head down below, and they find the spiraled crevass and ramp that leads them in but also what the others were searching for to find their way out.
This is also the origin of the horrid smell.
With the whole of the player characters back together, the group investigates this putrid smelling cavern, and all they find is death: a group of drow had arcane chains around a infant tarrasque, perhaps undead already, and they were stopped by a squad of lupin from the 1st House . This obviously soon went towards fighting, and they lost control of the beast, that was slain by the final lupin standing. It takes the group some time to realize it is a malformed and mutated tarrasque corpse, and by that time, the undead bodies of drow, lupin, and eventually the baby tarrasque as well, all begin to twitch and rise as zombies.
The group moves quickly, using Birdman's torch, and the attacks and assaults directly to heads and spines, and they destroy these monsters quickly before they mob about harming Althea, Leandra, Rhogarr, or Donovan, let alone escaping above to city to cause more havoc and chaos. During the commotion, Leandra runs up to the city, away from the group, wishing to find freedom from this solemnity and death, and dance in the festival as promised beforehand.
The group soon realizes she is missing, and Stryke, Cotton, and Birdman, with Rhogarr and Donovan try to figure out where Leandra and why the young pumthera left them, finding good reason with her dancing in the city as a cause. Moreover, as they begin to craft plans to go after the teenager, Ssech and Mel expound to Eros about how she is a target, and how they have means to help her and maybe even Adira's corpse from rotting and changing, maybe even of resurrection; however, Eros must leave the city, or she must find other means to stay hidden, perhaps joining the 10th house. This prompts Eros to magical send messages to Pio, only confirming his need and want to protect Eros from his crazed Second, Altopar. Additionally, she sends a message to Rexaney Pelago, 13th Binder, Stout Halfling Glamour Bard , and she hopes to use his favor, but he unfortunately informs her that he had Shallowbutter, a lieutenant in the 12th House, come looking for Eros, and Roxana, Dancer of the 13th House offered to go with the drow in place of Eros so that no more violence would be bestowed upon the brothels of the 13th House. Eros, obviously and earnestly, worries over her protege Roxana, but she must first discuss with Mel and Ssech, as well as Birdman, Stryke, and Cotton. Eros then magically disguises herself as female squamata so that over the next hour, while she travels throughout the city to meet with Pio, to not be recognized for her; Altopar is obviously, eagerly waiting for Eros to appear based upon Mel's meeting with him hours before. Mel also disguises herself as a cat-folk, and Ssech changes his flowing robes to a proper suit of the nobles.
These three climb up to eavesdrop on Birdman and Stryke magically messaging each other with the echoes and spirits of the beasts Stryke seems possessed by, where Birdman convinces the badger-man to take care of Adira's body, and the kenku will go find Leandra dancing. He finds her within the hour, near a meeting of the 1st and 4th House Binder Lords, and they are nearly recognized by these masters' goons.
Meanwhile, the others go to the 10th House Lord, Piorvani, Binder-Lord of the 10th House: Drunken Master , and they make a new deal to lure Altopar into a trap within a day.
Rewards Granted
Giant translucent, lustrous black with glowing highlights gemstone given to Mealladh Apéthanta from Altopar for capturing Eros .
Missions/Quests Completed
Join the Putori against Altopar.
Report Date
22 Oct 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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