Of Men and Machines Session 4
General Summary
Let's Go Shopping
Their next stop set, the party decided visit the local blacksmith first - a small shop in the center of town called Blue Steel. They made their way through the streets, navigating the small crowds of people who were still very much concerned about the murder the other night. They passed by the sweet scent of lavender along the way into town and the smiling visage of Leah Pehosley who recognized them and they her from their time down at the docks. Leah invited the party and asked if they'd be willing to assist her with an errand to Castleport. Malark agreed, and as they entered her shop he could see through the corner of his eye the plants seemingly following him, but when he turned to look they would stop. Just a trick of the light he thought. Leah asked the party to take a small box of ingredients to Qi'faren Elesh at his shop, the Plane Walker Magic Shop. They inspected it briefly, seeing a number of herbs and ingredients in there. Leah paid the group 3 gold pieces in advance and told them that Qi'faren would pay them the rest upon delivery. Having accepted Leah's quest, the group continued into town. Fel'Shu split off and visited the local temple while the rest of the group continued towards the center of town to the smithy. Fel'shu headed up the hill to a small temple overlooking the town. It's simple wooden columns flanking the entrance welcomed in the monk, who was greeted by a young human priest busy cleaning up inside. Fel'shu recognized the man from the docks the other day. The priest greeted Fel'shu warmly and welcomed him into the Temple of Melora, the goddess of the sea. The monk looked around the temple, and found it (and the priest) humble enough to pray. He ducked off to a corner and began to pray. An hour into his worship, he had a vision: black vines dancing across the bow of a ship at sea, a voice in the distance saying "the city." Grateful for the vision, Fel'shu left the temple. The rest of the party continued toward Blue Steel to purchase some new weapons. They could hear the clinking of the hammer-on-metal from a distance. They entered the smithy, and standing in front of them stood a large man with a thick grey beard and white hair. He ignored the party and continued hammering away. Keck attempted to introduce himself. The smith ignored him. Keck asked about getting a basic sword. The smith ignored him. As Keck was starting to get irritated, a woman entered the smithy. Her weathered face held a look of a mix between contempt and surprise. She introduced herself as Ciara Pyncion and her husband, Jonaeth Pyncion. Keck explained that he was looking for some swords and that they could get a 10% discount, according to Kobril Dersk. Ciara acknowledged the deal that had been struck, and showed him her wares. Keck and Tim the Not-so-Tiny both traded in their rusty longswords for a pair of newer longswords. The party rejoined one another near the temple and headed out to Castleport, saying goodbye to Beachdenn.Ray Tracing
It's a 10 mile hike along the Southport Road from Beachdenn to Castleport. About an hour into their journey, Malark spotted a Cloud Ray in the distance. From that distance he could see the massive creature floating above the ocean inhaling vast quantities of ocean creatures - mainly small fish and the like. Determining that they were too far from the monstrosity to be in any danger, and recalling that Cloud Rays seldom venture over land, Malark advised that they continue on toward the city.I was an Adventurer Once
An hour later, the party entered the Southgate neighborhood of Castleport. The hustle and bustle of the locals headed to market or other places was plenty to contend with. They walked along the main street, passing by a small bazaar with a pair of guards standing around for security. Across the street, a small tavern called The Itchy Orc stood with its slightly dilapidated door. The door swung open violently and the scent of piss hit them with all the subtlety of a professional boxer as two men in the midst of a brawl poured out, falling into a pool of urine next to the entrance. The guards standing by the bazaar came over and broke up the fight, hauling the two men away. They entered the tavern - Fel'shu kept outside - seeing a group of surly looking men sitting at one table being rowdy, while behind the bar stood a large intimidating orc missing a nose. The group sat down at an empty table in the corner; a moment later a waitress came by and took their order. As she returned, one of the large, surly looking men slapped her on her rear, causing her to spill an ale. She apologized to the group and tried to make an excuse for them. Not being particularly keen on that action, Damakos cast Thaumaturgy on one of the men, making him hear one of his colleagues talk some trash about him. He stood up and the levied his accusation. Before they could get into an outright brawl, the third man among them broke it up and they left the bar. The barmaid smiled, and the group asked about the bartender. She told them that he - an orc named Brimlok the Girthy - Meanwhile, outside, Fel'shu kept watch over the bazaar. He could see that the attitude was somewhat tense among the locals with folks looking at him as a stranger. He noticed two large men, similar to the ones that would storm out of the tavern a few minutes later. They toured the bazaar and chatted with a small fruit vendor. Fel'shu kept close, just to listen. He heard them bully the man into giving him free fruit. Before they could bully him some more, Fel'shu inserted himself and offered to pay for the men's apples, and indeed purchase the entire basket at a later time. The two gruff men looked Fel'shu up and down and muttered something to one another before heading back into town. The fruit vendor thanked Fel'shu profusely and explained that the boys from the South Wind Trading Company tended to bully a lot of the smaller vendors and merchants in the area because of the protection they provided. Hearing this bit of information, Fel'shu returned to the his spot outside the tavern. Back inside the piss-stinking building, the rest of the party had learned several more details about Brimlok. They discovered that his son was a bit of a latent magic user and that he feared for his life given the recent string of murders around the city seemingly targeting magic users. They chatted up Brimlok himself, who told the group that he also used to be an adventurer like themselves and was quite impressed with their use of Thaumaturgy on the South Wind Trading Company men earlier - he and his friends had used a similar technique in years past. It turns out that Brimlok was quite friendly despite his imposing presence. He explained that there had been three or four murders over the past month that had everyone on edge since the authorities didn't seem to have any leads. With that, the party joined up outside once more and headed into town.Bubbles and Baubles
The party approached the city gates and had to wait behind some merchants. The guards were questioning them on their goods, their destination, and where they'd come from. As the locals passed by, they could feel their eyes watching them. Clearly the atmosphere was tense. The merchants entered the city and the guards asked the party the same question. Keck presented the letter that Kobril Dersk gave them and the men directed them to Hardingham Keep in the northeast part of town. They also inquired about the location of the Plane Walker Magic Shop, and were told that it was in the city center. The party, thankful for the directions, headed off to meet Qi'faren Elesh. The group crossed the bridge into the western part of the city and followed the streets over to the magic shop. Walking by the docks, they saw several more of the South Wind Trading Company men; some were guarding certain warehouses, while others stood in front of the former merchant's guild headquarters. They paid them no mind as they continued on their destination. The shop was small and had a purple roof. The sign out front displayed a small cauldron that blew actual bubbles magically. As they approached, they spotted a tall dark haired elf wearing ruby colored robes tapping on the sign with his cane. As he did so, more bubbles spewed out of the sign and he smiled triumphantly before walking back inside. The party followed suit and entered the shop. The quirky gentleman inside was no doubt the man they were sent to meet: Qi'faren Elesh. He greeted the party in his warm but very odd manner. Keck presented him with the box of supplies that they were asked to deliver by Leah Pehosley earlier that day. The elf smiled broadly and inspected his package before producing the 7 gold pieces per the contract with Leah. Malark inquired about the murders with Qi'faren, who expressed disdain at the notion that someone could be targeting magic users in his city, and told the players that he wasn't afraid and that nobody would dare challenge him. As the party prepared to depart to the castle, Qi'faren stopped them momentarily. He asked if they'd be willing to take a job for him and the group entertained his suggestion. He asked them to collect a number of plants from the nearby Hastlet Woods along with some wolf gall bladders. He offered 10 gold pieces to sweeten the deal. Being hard up for cash, the group accepted and then headed out to the castle.So There's This Killer...
Approaching the castle, Keck and Malark presented the letter from Kobril Dersk. One of the guards took it and escorted the group over to the office of Aldar Duskstone, sheriff of Castleport. They entered the dimly lit room where a middle-aged man with chin length hair and a scar across his left eye sat. He was joined by a dark-skinned woman who introduced herself as Alyce Dorgonn, the deputy. She quickly asked why they were here and was presented with the letter of recommendation. Reading through it she chuckled to herself, commenting that Kobril can be overly naive sometimes. As she read it aloud, Aldar scoffed and muttered something in an incoherent fashion. He took a small flask out of his pocket and took a sip. It seemed as though he'd already had several. Alyce presented the letter to Aldar and asked him to sign it, offering that they could use the help. He snatched it from her and scrawled an illegible mark across the bottom. Before Malark could ask for details regarding the case, Alyce escorted them out into the courtyard. She began to explain that there'd been three murders in as many weeks...Rewards Granted
- 3gp for accepting Leah Pehosley's delivery
- 7gp for completing the delivery to Qi'faren Elesh
- 50xp each for turning in Herbal Delivery
- 100xp each for advancing the plot
- 25xp for Damakos for his creative use of Thaumaturgy in the tavern
- 25xp for Fel'Shu for his de-escalation of tensions between the South Wind Trading Company and the fruit vendor
Missions/Quests Completed
Herbal Delivery
Report Date
14 Apr 2023
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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