Session 4 Report
General Summary
Springmelt 3rd, 2192
Kouvian and the Rat Pack woke-up to a warm bowl of hot ham water soup and bread crust in Ledchurch. As they went outside, they saw that Mayor McCheese put together a small celebration for them. They were very brief in their speech and moved out of the village quickly as they continued their trek towards Valera.
Springmelt 5th, 2192
Not long after beginning their walk that morning, Scraps noticed what sounded like sounded like snoring coming from the side of the road. He investigated and discovered a pair of boots sticking out from under a bush. After he informed the rest of the group, Azid decided to go and kick the pair of boots and wake them up.
An elfmarked man looking beat-up and poor met them and introduced himself as Naphak Billowboots. He claimed to be the son of a merchant in Valera but had no idea how he got where he was and he didn’t have any money on his person. He asked the group to take him home, for which Azid told him that was not a problem. Naphak then asked if they had any XP, a narcotic that was passed around the slums of Valera, and they told him no.
Springmelt 6th, 2192
Nearing Valera, the party was ambushed by dust goblins!
The goblins attack from either side of the road with their arrows while the party scurried without cover. Stinkbreath tried to take out their leader with his longbow, but he was well protected in his dugout. Scraps attempted to charge the largest goblin but was painful made aware of hunting traps that had been scattered around the goblins. Measle, assuming that there was only one trap, ran past Scraps and attacked the goblin boss.
Naphak took cover near the cart and Azid attempted to cat spells, but it was without much effect. Kouvian went for the goblins on the otherside of the road. With an impressive leap, he cleared any potential traps and landed directly in the trenches with the goblins. Though he missed his attack as he did so, the goblins were nonetheless shocked as the hulking minotaur landed with a loud thud right in front of them.
Stinkbreath attempted to fire on the goblin boss again. The goblin was currently engaged with Measle, so Stinkbreath deftly shot him through the ear with his arrow, killing him instantly. Without hesitation, he knocked a second arrow and shifted just slightly to execute a second goblin that was sneaking up on his older brother. The arrow hit the goblin in the neck and the force was enough to pin him to the dirt wall behind him. Measle called his thanks out to his younger brother and Stinkbreath gave him a little thumbs up.
Scraps managed to pry himself free from the hunting trap, but it took all of his effort to do so. As he did this, Measle quickly pilfered the goblin boss for a little bit of coin and some odds and ends.
Kouvian and Azid made short work of two dust goblins in the trenches. The final goblin, having seen his entire group massacred in seconds, turned and fled as quickly as he could. Stinkbreath was not about to let him escape and harm someone else though. He fired one arrow and hit the goblin in the back and he collapsed, dead on the spot.
The rat pack made it back to Valera and paid the gate taxes to enter the city proper. They first went to take Naphak home. He had a nice brownstone on the River Roen. Azid insisted on a reward so the man allowed them to come inside and sought out his father to pay for their services.
The group heard some feverish shouting from the other room. A visibly angry and pudgy elfmarked man came into the room. He was red in the face and did his best to speak to them levelly, although he was clearly forcing it. Lord Billowboots “thanked” them for bring his son home and paid them 20 gold pieces for their service. As he left, they heard a smacking sound as the father demanded to know why Naphak couldn’t be more like his sister.
Deciding that it wasn’t their business, the rat pack left and started their walk towards the home of Anton Valcrist. Along the way, they discussed what they might tell him regarding his lost book. He pleasantly greeted them at the door of his home and invited them in for tea. He checked the chest of goods and was happy to see his items, but quickly noticed his missing tome and asked what had happened to it.
Kouvian, now in the guise of Garnus, explained that they had successfully retrieved it but a red tiefling introduced herself as Ariazes and attacked them when they refused to hand it over. They barely survived the attack and she took the book with her. Anger flashed in Valcrist’s eyes for only a moment before he asked why she would introduce herself before attacking them as well as allowing them to live.
Garnus hadn’t a good answer for him. He said that the whole ordeal was very odd and asked Valcrist if they should be concerned about future attacks. Valcrist said that people such as this were not to be trifled with and that it would be wise to be on the lookout for future assassins or thieves.
Despite not having returned all of the promised goods, Valcrist proved to be a man of his word. He paid them a sum of 500 gold pieces in a small chest and thanked them for their courage and their service. He hoped to be able to do business with them again in the future, should the need present itself. The party was surprised to get the full payment and showed interest in doing more work for him in the future.
Springmelt 7th, 2192
Kouvian, still in his guise of Garnus, sought out Ferryman Vanth at the Temple of Charun. He wanted to know what he could be doing to further help the city after the Battle for Valera. The undead priest told him that all was returning to normal after that ordeal, however there was new trouble brewing in the city. The city guard was struggling to deal with local drug lords known as the Rotten Kings. Apparently, they were holding the city hostage in some way.
Kouvian took this news back to the others. Stinkbreath went and found a guard that he used to work with named Ruddock. He told Stinkbreath that the Rotten Kings had been expanding their drug trade beyond the slums. They were now selling to the nobility and merchants in the city proper. The guard had tried to move against them but were stopped every time. They then received a letter warning that any attempt to move against them would lead to them poisoning the cistern that provides most of the city with clean drinking water.
Sharing all of this information with the rest of the group, the party decided to look into this further. They formulated a plan to watch the well where their deliveries were being made to get an idea for their routines.
Springmelt 10th, 2192
Stinkbreath staked out the well for two days and noticed the same runner coming every morning. The group ambushed him and interrogated him. The dealer admitted that he was scared of their leader, King Sketch, but that he also feared for the life of his family. He told the party all he knew about the organization. It appeared that they would let him go, but Azid murdered him. The rest of the party was shocked by this, but they did not seem to mind the lack of morality.
Kouvian and the Rat Pack climbed down into the well and saw a walkway with the heads of guards put on display. Stinkbreath recognized some of them and Kouvian muttered that answered the question on what they were going to do when they found King Sketch.
Kouvian led the way through a very tight and small cave that was dug out. He followed it to a cavern filled with garbage and purple mushrooms. Scraps and Azid approached the mushrooms and tried to pick one. A cloud of poisonous spores came out of them and hurt them both.
The party followed a trail of black liquid flowing from another cavern. They investigated to find the liquid coming from the walls of the cavern. They also saw a statue of a woman with her two hands outstretched. One hand held a jawless skull, the other an ornate dagger. The statue was cloaked with a purple robe with gold detailing. Although they did not know of any deity this might represent, it did look religiously significant.
Kouvian led the way through another tight passage and followed some distant sounds that he heard. They came out into a small room where an old man was chained to the floor. He was frantically working on an alchemical concoction using the black liquid and the mushrooms. He was creating the pink crystals known as XP. He was easily frightened of the group but insisted on continuing his work for King Sketch, who he claimed was far more fearsome.
They left them there and found themselves walking back into the large room of mushrooms, only on a different side. They decided to head back towards the entrance and take another route that would lead them directly into the cistern.
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