Of Men and Machines Session 10
General Summary
Back to the Tavern
Fel'Shu continued hearing the voice of the stranger in his head during the party's recovery in the barn. It troubled him, but he was able to focus enough on his meditation that he was able to rest. Malark's keen hearing picked up the sounds of rats squeaking along below ground, possibly searching for their master. The experiences of the day were enough that the party knew they needed to get back to the relative safety (or at least predictable chaos) of Castleport. Once the party had rested and recovered enough, they began the trek back. It was just after midnight by the time the party arrived. They approached the gate and were immediately accosted by an increased guard presence who was adamant that nobody would get in. The adventurers presented their credentials and the guard, haughty in his duties, immediately cowed and gave the order to let the party into town. Eshshann the Pocket, true to his name, deliberately bumped into the guard and lifted his coin purse. There wasn't much money in it - he was a lowly city guard - but it was enough that it would entertain the dragonborn for the night with a round of drinks for the party. The party headed directly for the The Aggressive Goblin, and as it came into sight so did a group of men from the South Wind Trading Company. The men stopped the party, feeling as if they were familiar somehow. One of them made a snide comment, which of course drew a response from Eshshann. Without warning, he opened his mouth and immediately blasted the thugs with his acid breath! The thugs composed themselves as best as they could and they quickly swarmed the closest party member, which happened to be Tim the Not-so-Tiny. Tim couldn't understand why they were so angry at him when it was Eshshann's actions that brought this on. Nevertheless, one of the thugs did go for the wayward wizard and began to attack him. Fel'Shu, not to be left out of the mayhem this time, jumped into the fray to defend his party and layed one out with a mighty flurry of blows. Teeth flew and eyes swelled shut as the thug hit the ground unconscious. Tim and Damakos dispatched another two while the remaining thug decided that discretion was the better part of valor and fled. Clearly victorious, the party decided to round the thugs and take them to the authorities.Piercing the Darkness
The new moon of Humjir and the three quarter moon of Soeus danced across the sky. It was a nice night, encounter with the South Wind thugs notwithstanding. A scream suddenly tore through the air, which the party realized was right around the block. Eshshann, Keck, and Tim headed in the direction of the scream which came from an alley between two houses. Two glowing red eyes flashed at the party from the void. It dropped a body with an audible thud, blood dripping from its hand. It appeared to tuck something away behind its back while maintaining eye contact with the adventurers. As if it were studying them. Just then, it darted up the side of the building in a smooth and swift climb. At the top, it looked back at the group, its eyes flashing red once more. It turned and darted into the night. The three party members gave chase on the ground, doing their best to keep visual custody of the assailant. The killer jumped effortlessly from rooftop to rooftop in the darkness, as if guided by some kind of preternatural rope. It dove into a group of civilians, terrified at this creature that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. It picked up a child, a young girl and held her up as a human shield. Terror flashed in her eyes as the party closed the gap. Eshshann hurled an attack at the killer, forcing him to drop the child and clamber through an alley. The party continued their chase through the city, with Eshshann eventually catching up to it. In the span of a heartbeat it whirled around and grabbed the dragonborn by the throat and held him up, pulling him close to its face. Its eyes glowed a dull crimson as it appeared to examine the wizard coldly and methodically."Fascinating creature. But you will not do." - Reckoner, 10 Uhr, 1428Tim and Keck arrived just at that moment and drew their weapons. The killer threw down Eshshann and, with the flick of his arm, drew a blade. In a flash he attacked Tim and immediately turned his attack to Keck, downing the half-orc rogue in a single blow. Tim slashed at the killer with his battleaxe, but the killer responded with a slashing blow of his own which dropped the fighter. It was now just him versus Eshshann. The wizard gathered his courage and let his magic missiles do the talking, each one landing serious blows. It tore through the clothing worn by the killer, revealing some kind of metal underneath. The killer struck at Eshshann with his blade, but it got stuck in the ground. Eshshann took the opportunity to attack the killer with every magic missile and firebolt he could muster, but the killer was more than able to pummel the wizard with his fist. The killer kicked at his stuck blade fiercely, which caused it to snap off and allowed him to use both fists on the now bleeding and battered wizard. Keck and Tim had both fled, hoping to bring back reinforcements, or at least fight another day. Eshshann was running out of spell slots and was in need a miracle. The killer kept pummeling Eshshann until at last, the wizard's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell unconscious. The killer, triumphant, rested his knee upon Eshshann's chest. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a scalpel and studied the wizard carefully. The blade danced across Eshshann's broken and battered body. His vision slowly faded out into darkness...
"Not today, little one." - Reckoner, 10 Uhr, 1428.
Rewards Granted
- 1 Inspiration point for Eshshann the Pocket for his bravery
- 360xp per player for surviving the encounter with Reckoner
- 100xp for Eshshann the Pocket for his bravery
Report Date
29 Jul 2023
Primary Location
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