S1 E8: The Librarian and the Duchess
General Summary
- The party makes it back to town and heads to the Hall of Knowledge, which is a very fancy name for a fairly modest library though it's certainly bigger than any other collection of books in a jungle town anywhere around here. Nyx talks to Sana, the withered old half-orc librarian, with Alistor in tow, while Kristre returns to his family to share most of his treasure, and Nesskan decides to blend in and listen around town.
- Sana tells them various things about the Staff of Death - that maybe it's the True Wand of Orcus, maybe it's guarded in the center of an impossible maze in a ruined Pyramid at the bottom of a cliff by Baphomet, or a Mummy Lord named Malavir, for whom the pyramid is named; That there are two other Pyramids in the region, that all three line up with some mystic pattern in the stars; one that remains as smooth as glass and unbroken after thousands or perhaps millions (who can say?) of years is called the Pyramid of Ala towards the northwest, then the Pyramid of Malavir more centrally located some distance east of the Kanambou road at the bottom of a thousand-foot cliff; and to the northeast, the thoroughly ruined ex-Pyramid of Nimpur, plundered in antiquity and broken open to the sky, now more a pile of rubble than even a ruin. She has some thoughts about the local warlords but not much to say about current events.
- They return Eebo Nibbis to his mother, the Duchess Inkida Nibbis, who throws a complete fit, and though she seems to take the threat of the prophecy from Tamoachan seriously she doubts she can muster much of a response other than basic preparations; Talaganza is a totally decentralized state, governed by a coalition of the Duchess, Doctor Twalik - a shadowy figure who evidently heals the sick but also takes and deals in a lot of dangerous substances on the side, and Priestess Onora, a Kaalengi shamaness who devoutly believes in the doctrine of honorable forgiveness and who is therefore essentially a pacifist; these will not be able to rouse the city guard to much more than their usual action, which is sufficient to provide a baseline of stability but is not designed to fight off a foreign power. If they need armies, the place to get those is from either of the Colonizers - Minon or the Khazigiri Empire, neither of which are likely to give anything like a shit about what happens to Talaganza as long as their own colonies are safe. But perhaps something can be done to convince them, or other solutions can be found.
- Getting to the wand of Orcus before the death-warlord does seems like a plan more likely to bear fruit; in the hallway out of his mother's earshot, Eebo agrees to try to shore up city defenses while the party goes after the wand. Eebo suggests that, rather than get lost forever in some crazy Demon Prince maze, they simply wait outside in secret for the enemy warlord to come back out with the staff, then take it from him after he's done all the work but before he's had time to attune to the weapon. This of course runs the fairly substantial risk that the warlord will attune to the wand first. The other option, more dangerous but certainly more in line with Kaalengi attitudes of honor and sacrifice, is to get the staff and destroy it before anyone can attune to it. Sana suggested a couple of methods that sound entirely impossible now, but in time they may find other ways or grow in power enough to do it themselves.
- The local merchant Trajan, an immigrant from Imperial lands, helps them get outfitted for the trek back into the jungle, and tells them about two local warlords he's familiar with in the area, basically family patriarchs over tribal farmers and fisher-people: The Oanomui (Oh-na-MOO-ee), an extended family of Kaalengi humans living near Lake Oanamu to the southwest on the other side of Ngoma Bay; and the Malichani Range who run the small fishing town of Bilobau to the west of Talaganza, presumably their chief's name is Malichan. Trajan mentions that another merchant in Talaganza who trades in foods and dry goods, Koyani, is more of an expert on all the various warlords and tribal conflicts among the people who live out in the wilds rather than in the relative safety (but higher crime, disease, and poverty) of the three main cities of the Caetica.
- The gang decides to get a rest before they head off again the next day, and perhaps stop by Koyani's shop to talk about warlords and make sure they have all the gear they might need for scaling thousand foot cliffs and navigating rushing river rapids while being chased by ravenous dinosaurs, before heading into Baphomet's Labyrinth to fight a Mummy Lord for the Wand of Orcus...is it possible to have too much adventure? NEVER!
Rewards Granted
- 200gp each for returning Eebo Nibbis relatively safe an unharmed to his mother, Duchess Inkida
Character(s) interacted with
- Sana, the Librarian: A good resource to research things of a historical, religious, folkloric, scientific, etc nature. Not much help with current events, local politics, factions, or rumors.
- Trajan, Imperial Merchant: Buyer and seller of equipment, armor and weapons, and the odd magical item here and there as well as assorted trade goods in bulk, and probably stolen goods too - he seems a little shady and he must be, if he's here and not safe and cool back in Khazigur. Knowledgeable about items, logistics, locations in the area, and all things related to the Empire and especially the City of Khazigur; also pretty well informed about local events and factions though less plugged in to regional affairs like tribal conflicts or whatever the goblin tribes are up to these days. Friends with Koyani.
Created Content
Talaganza Magic Items Availability:
| Rarity | Roll | Price Range | Check Again? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 3-6 on 1d6 | 10g - 99g | Hourly |
| Uncommon | 5-6 on 1d6 | 100g - 999g | Daily |
| Rare | 6 on 1d6 | 1,000g - 9,999g | Weekly |
| Very Rare | 12 on 1d12 | 10,000g - 99,999g | Monthly |
- Consumables (potions, scrolls) cost half as much as their permanent equivalents.
- Scroll rarity is based on the level of the highest spell on the scroll:
- Cantrip - 1st level: Common
- 2nd -3rd level: Uncommon
- 4th-5th level: Rare
- 6th-7th level: Very Rare
- 8th - 9th level: Legendary (unavailable until the players successfully enrich the local economy to afford things that cost more than 250 years worth of a soldiers' wages)
- For availability of nonmagic items that have a cost, use the price range to determine rarity and the needed dice roll (ie 60 yards of silk=600gp, so they're uncommon: Available at Trajan's or Koyani's with a 5-6 roll on 1d6).
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