Of Men and Machines Session 12

General Summary

The Sweet Science

Keck and Tim the Not-so-Tiny woke up first. They both stretched their aching muscles and felt that they needed some air. Last night's encounter left them with the same realization: if they're going to survive this, they'd best brush up on their combat skills. They knew exactly the place to do just that: the Fighter's Guild across the street.
They stepped out into the sunlight, dodging the slowly awakening city. A moment later they crossed the threshhold leading into the guild. They didn't notice any new posts on the message board outside, but thought they could maybe get some answers about what they'd encountered the night before from the guildmistress, Seraphina Stormblade. As soon as they walked in they were assailed with the sight and sound of a Githyanki and an Elf engaged in hand-to-hand combat. That, coupled with the vaguely metallic scent of fresh blood, was enough to get Tim excited. He could barely take his eyes off the fighters, but was nevertheless dragged upstairs almost against his will by Keck.
They headed through the second floor and into the office of the guildmistress, who sat there quietly at her notes. Without even turning to greet them, Seraphina greeted them in the traditional Orciukh greeting and said that she knew they were in the building by their footfalls. Tim was damn-near in love at this martial skill. Keck chuckled and got to the point: they had encountered the killer the night before. He described the person as having glowing red eyes and an embedded blade in his arm. He provided some details, such as his incredible speed and strength.

"If this really is a Warforged, you're in great danger." - Seraphina Stormblade

Seraphina took a look through her bookshelves and retrieved a dusty tome. She slapped it on her table, the dust bellowing upward from it, and opened it to a crusty, yellowed page. A sketch of a group of soldiers standing side by side faced the party, along with brief pieces of descriptions and history. Seraphina explained that the warforged had been elite shock troops of the Phasnosh Civilization thousands of years ago. She further explained that while many historians and archaeologists believed them to have to been trained since youth to be elite warriors, others still held the belief that they were actually constructs, imbued with sentience through long-lost arcane methods. Regardless of the historical truth, Seraphina cautioned the adventurers to be cautious as they progressed in their investigation.
Keck and Tim took heed, but they had other things to handle as well. They went back downstairs to watch the ongoing fight. Tim was entranced by the smacking of the fists and decided to get a closer look. One of the fighters, a Githyanki, looked at the half-orc warrior and invited him to train. Tim felt flabbergasted and jumped at the opportunity to not only prove his mettle, but to improve his hand-to-hand skills. He stepped onto the blood stained hay and put up his fists defensively. The Githyanki threw a punch that connected with Tim's face, stunning him. Tim retaliated with a wild swing and a miss. Seeing him off-balance, the Githyanki quickly countered with a left hook and a knee to the stomach. Tim wasn't getting quite what he thought he would get from this lesson. This went on for another minute with each of Tim's punches missing wildly. The Githyanki proved to be quite the counter-puncher and he made short work of the adventurer. One last blow put Tim out. The Elf fighter ran into the storehouse and came back with smelling salts to wave under Tim's nose. The half-orc came to just as quickly, his eye swollen shut, but a bit wiser and more experience with regards to the art of pugilism. Keck helped him up and carried him back to the tavern. The Githyanki said he did great, and to just keep his hands up next time.

Book Learnin!

At the same time that Keck and Tim had departed the Aggressive Goblin tavern, Eshshann the Pocket cast Disguise Self and transformed himself into a poor young girl. Nobody noticed as he waltzed right out of the tavern quarters in disguise, then again the only other person in the common area of the tavern was a lone drinker in the corner sitting quietly. Eshshann darted across town, having heard of a Mage's Guild located somewhere in East Castleport. The hustle and bustle of morning in the city proved just the distraction he needed to successfully lift a few magical ingredients from a local vendor.
He pocketed his ill-gotten gains just as the purple and green rooftop of the mage's guild came into sight. A large wooden door stood proudly guarding the interior of the guild. Eshshann grabbed the door handle to open it just as a half-elf clad in traditional wizard's robes and hat came out the same door. The half-elf looked down at the disguised dragonborn and bade him/her to leave. The wizard introduced himself as Ellamir the Magnificent, aka Ellamir the Glorious, aka Ellamir Dragon's Bane. Eshshann looked on, unimpressed. He gave his story about being a self-trained wizard and seeking proper training, but Ellamir wasn't buying it. Eshshann attempted to bring his hands together in order to cast a spell, but quickly found one of his hands was stuck to the door. As he looked over to see why he couldn't remove his hand, he noticed a large eye staring back at him. Large teeth and a tongue formed into a sinister smile and began to talk to Ellamir in a strange language.
Eshshann decided to drop his disguise, revealing his true form to both the door and Ellamir. Slightly impressed, but sensing the talent and skill within him, Ellamir told the door to let him in. Seemingly grudgingly, the door obliged, but not before Eshshann noticed that the spell components that he had pilfered had been subsequently pilfered by the door mischieviously.
Stepping into the guild hall, Eshshann looked around. The smell of ozone and burnt hair was strong at the moment, and somewhat offputting. A small halfling woman approached him curiously and introduced herself as Denisse Hillstrike. Eshshann explained himself once more, and she beckoned him to come and sit with her. She summoned some chairs that hopped up and scooped Eshshann up like a bowl of soup and plopped him right in front of her.
He explained that he sought education and a refinement of his skills. She explained that the guild was not an education institution, but would be able to help with some of it. Eshshann expressed his willingness to learn and his desire to become a member of the guild. Convinced that Eshshann had a good heart, she produced a contract, the length of which was not entirely clear. Taken aback by its sheer volume, Eshshann did his best to skim through it as Denisse produced a magic quill for him to sign it. He did so, albeit slightly hesitantly. Eshshann wasn't overly comfortable with binding himself to an agreement he wasn't completely sure of. But he saw a means to an end and he took it. She explained that by signing here, that all other guild halls would instantly recognize him and grant him access to their resources. It would all be synched up in the "magic cloud" as it were. The small dragonborn then spent the next hour or so going through all the books he could in that time, trying to learn any best practices regarding spells he could.

Just Looking to Help

Fel'Shu stretched his chest as he noticed a strange young girl exit the tavern below him. It was still sore given the injury sustained the night before from his encounter with Natalya Danamark and overcast weather that morning. He could hear some unusual gathering a bit to the northwest of the tavern, the sounds of guards telling people to keep back. He ate an apple and descended from the roof and headed straight for the docks. Fel'Shu was focused on the pirate he saw the night before and was convinced that his answers were at the docks manned by the South Wind Trading Company.
Arriving at the docks, Fel'Shu noticed even more South Wind men walking around along with regular dock workers than he saw the night before. He needed a better look but he didn't want to risk being found out and getting into an altercation with them. He decided that he required a disguise of some kind.
Looking around, he found a human guiding a horse-drawn cart. Fel'Shu walked up to the man, who introduced himself as Crawford, and asked if he needed any assitance in delivering his cart. Crawford, a bit surprised at the offer of help, but also a bit skeptical, asked what he wanted. Fel'Shu, of course, only requested some apples and cheese. Knowing a good deal when he saw one, Crawford accepted, and the two began their trek through the docks down a ship moored at a pier.
Fel'Shu made sure to take careful note of everything around him. He counted close to twenty men belonging to the South Wind in the immediate vicinity. There was no telling how many more were lurking inside the warehouses or other buildings. As the two men guided the cart past the old Merchant's Guild headquarters - which was now used as a headquarters by the South Wind Trading Company - Fel'Shu noted the presence of a much smaller, but well-dressed man clearly giving orders to much larger and more violent men. He had smoothly combed brown hair and appeared to be in charge. Accompanying him, was a young woman wearing a pretty green dress and clutching a leather bound journal to her chest. Her eyes darted from the brown-haired man to the thugs and around the docks. She appeared to be somewhat nervous.

"Two of our men are in jail and another one is dead in the streets! I want them dealt with!" - Unidentified Brown Haired Man from the South Wind Trading Company

As the man berated the thugs, Fel'Shu picked up a few key points of conversation. He was clearly upset at the status of his men. Fel'Shu also learned that the name of the woman was Matilde. As the brown haired man and the woman entered the South Wind company headquarters, Fel'Shu and Crawford continued towards the ships.
The monk helped Crawford load his goods into the ship, which he learned contained the entirety of Crawford's work. The vessel, he mentioned, was destined for Embermire and would hopefully net the merchant enough money to seek treatment for his sick family member. Fel'Shu learned that vessels under South Wind protection rarely, if ever, ran afoul of pirates in the area. Perhaps it was because of their superior sailing tactics, or a new set of routes that they took, but whatever the cause, it was enough to help ensure the flow of trade to and from the city.
Having spent nearly an hour loading Crawford's goods into the vessel, the two departed the docks and headed to a nearby bazaar where Crawford would purchase some cheese and apples for the monk. Fel'Shu thanked him and returned to the tavern.

Where've You Been?

Keck and Tim had just returned at the same time that Fel'Shu arrived; Alyce Dorgonn shoved the door open violently a moment later. She was clearly under pressure and needed demanded their presence at the nearby crime scene. She had mentioned that they needed to come by in the morning, but meant earlier than now. She looked around at the group and asked what had happened to Tim. Alyce was reassured that Tim had been training but needed a rest. She acquiesced and brought everyone up to speed and told them that time was of the essence since the weather was threatening to turn and wash everything away.
The strange man sitting in the corner of the tavern looked up from his plate and approached the group as they walked out of the tavern and to the crime scene. The man walked up to Keck and told him who he was: Malark. He had cast Disguise Self earlier and was trying to keep a low profile given the revelation that there was a bounty on his head. He would just hang back in the meantime and keep a general sense of awareness on the crowd.
The group arrived at the scene and a crowd of onlookers was being kept at bay by a handful of guards. Keck and Fel'Shu were allowed to pass, while Malark (in disguise) walked through the crowd. He could hear mutters of a demon and updates on the status of the guards that were attacked on the wall. He also noticed the presence of Qi'faren Elesh walking around curiously, albeit somewhat apart from the crowd.
Meanwhile Keck and Fel'Shu investigated the crime scene. They found another small piece of the sticky mushroom on the victim; the same one that Keck had recovered the night before near Eshshann's body. Fel'Shu and Keck examined it closely, but neither recognized it. Fel'Shu even took a small nibble from it and was put off by its bitter taste. Alyce asked what they had there and Keck showed her, mentioning that they had found a similar looking piece of fungus near Eshshann the night before. She recommended that they take it to a nearby mushroom vendor, Shroomin' Shaggy. The adventurers continued their investigation of the body, but was unable to determine much more than what was blatantly obvious. They headed to the market to find Shaggy and get his expert assessment.

Quit Harshin' My Mellow, Man

The market area was not as crowded as it usually was, likely because of the impending rain. Eshshann saw the group crossing the street and joined them right away. They brought the wizard up to speed and the three of them quickly found the would-be mycologist. 
A crudely drawn mushroom on a home made sign with the words "Shroomin' Shaggy's" stood in the middle of the market. A scruffy looking man with a somewhat unkempt appearance and a vacant stare stood behind the stand. "Welcome to Shroomin' Shaggy's! I'm, uh, Shaggy?" he greeted the adventurers. Clearly he was a genius and would be of tremendous value to the party. The group let out a communal sigh as they began their questioning.
Keck pulled out the piece of fungus he found at the murder site. He presented it to Shaggy who they had to work extra hard to keep focused. Fel'Shu began to get frustrated and bashed Shaggy's foot with his staff. The vendor didn't appreciate this, but Keck offered to buy an herbalism kit from him to keep him from turning on them. Shaggy examined the mushroom carefully and identified it as the Trumpet Toadstool. 
Keck immediately asked where they grow and Shaggy replied that they're only known to grow in one location: The Sanguine Abyss. He went on to explain that a sleeping dragon allegedly lived under the cave, which is what caused the earth to shake. Shaggy also noted that it was about a two day walk northwest from Castleport, just opposite of Hastlet Woods.
The group thanked Shaggy for his information and headed back to the tavern. The group now knew the location of the killer...

Rewards Granted

• +1 to Spell Attacks for Eshshann for the next 24 hours for spending time studying at the Mage's Guild
• 300xp per player for advancing the plot
• 50xp each for Fel'Shu and Malark for great roleplay
• 25xp for Eshshann for getting into the Mage's Guild

Character(s) interacted with

• Ellamir the Magnificent
• Crawford
• Shroomin' Shaggy

Report Date

25 Aug 2023

Primary Location

Castleport

Related Characters

• Alyce Dorgonn
• Denisse Hillstrike
• Eshshann the Pocket
• Fel'Shu
• Keck
• Malark
• Seraphina Stormblade
• Tim the Not-so-Tiny