Session 404 – A Cute Kitty
The Story So Far
Ash - An expert in the occult and a skilled monster hunter. Ash uses his talents and budding alchemical expertise to battle what people fear most for a price.
Ryobi - A monk of the embattled Order of the Warriors of Mameka. Ryobi is given an important mission: retrieve the holy blades containing the souls of his brother knights, which were lost in the recent Rethemi civil war.
They are joined by Vinzent, a bard with a morbid demeanor and a haunted past.
This is the continuation of Session 401 – Hungry Cargo.
5th to 30th Kelen (Spring) 728TR
After a botched mission, the heroes are outlaws, wanted for mass murder, robbery, and blasphemy. They have fled the Kingdom of Rethem on a secret mission for the Agrikan Primate of Harn, intending to learn the fate of the holy Weaponsmith's family in the distant Hepekeria desert continent.
On the first stage of their lengthy voyage, they boarded the merchant ship Whelp.
The heroes then arrived at the Port of Tarkain, the most significant settlement of the Principality of Tarkain. From there, they must book transport to the Hepekeria Port of Isynen, the largest settlement in the Isynen Autocracy.
Location - Sailing across the Gulf of Ederwyn.
Part 1 – A Rat and a Rock
After a few days of traveling up and down the docks, the party spots a curious event. Half a dozen of the prince's men chase a large rat across the docks. The rat leaps into the sea, and the men shoot crossbow bolts at it until it disappears. Ash spots something gleaming on the pier; it looks like the rat dropped a gem. As the prince's men mutter and complain, Ash drops down to tie his laces, skillfully pocketing an uncut diamond. Vinzent believes it is worth a fortune if cut by an elven or dwarven gem cutter.
After the guards leave, Ash dives into the bay discretely (using his new magical armor, which allows him to breathe water). In the murky depths, he looks for the rat and finds it sitting on the rudder of a nearby ship. He gives the gem to the rat and says, "Can we meet tomorrow?"
The next day at noon, a short man approaches; he has a big nose and ears and has a twitchy mannerism. Introducing himself as Ekor, he thanks Ash for his generosity. After learning they seek passage to Isynen, he says a Karajian Merchant Galley is due in port heading for that city in a week. Ekor will arrange a good quality berth and help pay their way. And if any business opportunities come up, he will happily inform them. Ash suspects Ekor is a wererat.
Part 2 – A Bath House with a Problem
Ekor visits the heroes a few days later. Mysterious things have been happening in and around the Dreamers Spa Bathhouse. Several of Ekor's distant cousins have been brutally murdered near the house, along with a couple of customers in the bathhouse. Ekor has heard the owner, Madame Palpellia Chlora, wants to keep the distasteful events quiet and would pay well for the problem to be solved. The deaths are believed to be particularly gruesome.
At the bathhouse, the trio meet with Madame Madame Palpellia. The middle-aged woman of Azeryani extraction, while petting her gorgeous white cat, Octavia, explains her situation. People are dying horribly, and there appears to be no connection. She allocates one of the maids to show the trio through the complex.
The maid tells the heroes nothing usually happens, apart from the neighbor's dogs being found dead a week ago, mutilated. She also mentioned that all the bathhouse cats except for Octavia have disappeared.
Part 3 – More Dead
The party finds nothing untoward until they find a locked room. The maid opens, seeing one of the clients lying dead, his insides torn out. The maid faints and the Heroes decide to investigate after she is revived. The party passes the innocent and cute white cat, intently watching them, giving the kitty a pet as they head downstairs.
They pass an elaborate brass pipe system and boilers used to heat the pools. In a side chamber is another corpse, one of the men who manages the water heater. Ash thinks he has spotted cat-size claw marks on the mangled corpse, but it's hard to be sure. While Ryobi pets the glorious feline who has wandered downstairs to watch the investigators, Ash decides to play a hunch. Octavia has a collar with a gem, so he attempts to steal it, thinking that this could have some malignant evil power; of course, he believes the beloved pet is not in any way responsible for any wrongdoing.
As Ash grabs for the collar, the cat snarls, and black tentacles grow out of the left side of its body. They dart out, tearing into Ash's flesh, seeking to tear out his internal organs. It lets out a meow only he can hear, and Ash nearly collapses with guilt and fear, but his strong will prevails. Ryobi is monetarily confused about what is happening and must overcome a compulsion to pet and groom the creature. The Heroes battle the tiny, cute, but monstrous feline terror, and although Ash is badly wounded, Vinzent's healing and encouragement keep him in the fight. Eventually, the tide of battle turns in the hero's favor, and the cat takes on a more monstrous hissing form, but Ryobi skewers the creature, and it falls to the floor dead. It disappears, leaving only her gemmed collar.
Madame Palpellia is initially devastated to learn her precious Octavia was responsible for all the deaths and misfortune, but whatever compulsion the creature used is starting to evaporate. Everything went wrong after Octivia disappeared a week ago and then abruptly returned. She suspects this shape-changing demon replaced her beloved pet. She pays the heroes the agreed coin to remove her problem.
The next day, at the docks, an unbelievably cute cat with wide eyes and mewing adorably introduced herself to the crew of a small merchant ship. The enamored crew happily takes on their new honorary crewmember. All will go well provided they suitably feed, clean up after, and pamper her.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Ekor - Shapechanging Thief.
Madame Palpellia Chlora - the owner of the Dreamers Spa.
Created Content
Nothing this week.
Related Reports
Nothing this week.
Player Characters
Ryobi - Human - L9 Monk
Background - Temple Guard.
Archetypes - Barbarian/Fighter.
Ash - Human - L9 Thaumaturge
Background - Weaponcrafter.
Archetypes - Alchemist.
NPC Companion
Vinzent - Human - L9 Bard
Background - Cursed.
Archetypes - Blessed/Disciple of Thalia.
Next Session
NPC Companion
Vinzent
He is a skilled minstrel who is infamous for his depressing performances and bad luck.
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