2024-11-13 - Sune in Silver Report
General Summary
The crew decided that they were not comfortable with weird mutation causing silver out in the wild, so they cornered Hopner the innkeeper of Starwood Hills. After explaining that their mine manger just mutated into an eyeball blob after chewing on some ore he folded and spilled the story. It seemed that he had emigrated to Andia after he got married, and he had grew up on Bral where he used to run with The Publicans. He still maintains contacts with some of his friends there, and has been helping the town smuggle a portion of their silver production to avoid paying the export duties associated with it. He was unaware that the vein they had been exploring recently had this effect on people, and he told the crew that all of the produce from it had been smuggled out instead of going through the proper channels. He tells them his contact is one Seth Nightbranch, and that he runs the Cabbage and Thistle pub in Gifftown.
Heading back to Bral the crew waste no time tracking down Seth. Now Seth is a professional, and is not really interested it sharing details of who he is importing the metal for, and being surrounded by large bulky associates he was not really amenable to being shaken down by the crews own bulky orcs. Luckily the crew had interrupted Seth and co planning a jailbreak, and he was keenly interested in keeping his hands clean. So he makes an offer; spring his two cooks that were recently captured and bound for forced labor on the Bral farms, and he would inform on his customer. The cooks are being held in a local guard station until they can be moved the next morning. As time is of the essence he shares with the crew the two nascent plans they were working on, either to hit the pen tonight, or to roll the transport in route. The crew decides on the second and plot to ambush the transport at a bend in the road.
Setting up on the roof the crew procures some alchemists fire and barrels of oil, dropping them to box the transport in as it reached the bend. Fire spooks the space hamsters that were drawing the cart, they take off and wedge themselves in an alley. Pulling their masks up Ah-tun and Ulfric advance on the driver and the Ogre that had taken point in the convoy, while Senyo and Tor'vay-nel deciding to stay on the roofs and engage in ranged combat. Ah-Tun hopping on top of the moving cart engaged the driver, and though he managed to knock the guard down and talk prisoners into holding him the moving cart made it hard for him to land a telling blow. Ulfric on the other hand took the Ogre solo, his thick armor soaking all the blows from the giant-kin's great-axe. The squishy members on the roof found themselves face to face with the remaining guard but two on one the manage to put him down. Taking care to leave the guards alive the crew popped the lock and let all the prisoners out, then made their own escape to let the heat subside. Later that night they met back up with Seth to learn that he was commissioned to import all the silver by the famous Bard Soma.
Now, everyone on Bral knows of Soma. He is by far the most popular performer on the rock and his good reputation and philanthropic works have made him a hero to the people, his being blind since birth have helped him to affect an air of humility that has endeared him to all. The crew knew they would have to play their investigations carefully. They started by checking into his philanthropy, visiting the public bath house that he endowed. Tor taking the opportunity to sucker the crew into enjoying a spa day, they find the place well appointed and maintained, but that he doesn't visit the shop often. They learn that he was raised in the church of Sune so their next stop is the House of the Lovers. After wandering the gardens a bit and taking in all the natural beauty they headed into the polished rose marble and gold inlaid temple and work their way into talking to a priest named Rivin Amber who was around as Soma was growing up. He tells them that they couldn't be prouder of his work bringing beauty into the world, and that he lives the ethos of the church with all the scholarships he funds at the bards college. They did manage to get Riven to spill a little tea and they found out that he could never be considered for the clergy even though he is a true believer due to how his blindness limits his ability to appreciate beauty. Lastly they started digging around with the other smugglers in the docks and they found that the silver shipments were not staying on Bral, instead they were bound for Selune.
As night approached they decided that it was best to go see the man in the flesh. Soma is the artist in residence at a swanky pub called The Sublime Nebula, just outside the city wall of the high district. Buying expensive drinks and settling in the crew enjoy watching the man earn his reputation, and after thoroughly enjoying the entertainment they decide it's time to approach him and see what they can get out of him. First Tor tries the fan girl route and while Soma seems more than happy to flirt with anyone who can hold a decent conversation it appeared that Tor did not meet this definition and he was just being polite. Next Senyo stepped up and asked about some of the art that he has commissioned. Soma was more than happy to gush about his protege Warrick Copperhull, who he had commissioned a bunch of statues from. Senyo pivoted and revealed that they had a statue that they think was made by Warrick and that he was hoping that Soma could help to authenticate the statue for them. Interested Soma agrees to meet them the next day, telling them to bring their statue to the House of the Lovers by mid day and he would see if he recognized the work. By this time his assistants had finished collecting tribute from the tavern patrons and with a flourish and a bow he teleported out of the room.
The next day the crew decided to try and use the statue to lure him out and jump him, but the agreed upon meeting spot and time being so public made that a dangerous plan to pull off. Finding Soma in the pleasure gardens they try to keep up the deception and see if they can just talk some stuff out of him. Handing him the statue from monastery they watched as he ran his hands over it appraising the shape and form of the statue. Ah-Tun's sharp eyes caught a momentary crack in Soma's poker face when a jolt of what looked like recognition surfaced when Soma touched the accursed silver. Soma apologized that he did not think the statue was Warrick's work, it was too spindly for his style, but he showed a keen interest in where the crew had acquired it from. They in turn told him the truth, mostly, leaving out the horrors they had witnessed in connection with it. The subject of the medium of the statue came up and the crew got him to admit that it was reminiscent of some silver that Warrick discovered and had become obsessed with recently, you know how artists are. He revealed to the crew that he had commissioned Warrick to make an offering for the church for him, a statue of Sune, that he was expecting to be delivered any day now and that he was planning a soiree to reveal it once it was here. With the authentication complete Soma excused himself and returned to the party he was engaged with when the crew arrived. Bard jumping thwarted, the crew decide the next best course of action is to try to see what Warrick is all about and maybe relieve him of the silver.
The crew make the short flight to Leira, the capitol city on Selune. Once on the moon they find that art is the main export, and there is an entire bureaucracy set up to pair customers with artists. Address to the Copperhull estate in hand the crew make their way. When they arrive they find the place quiet, with no real signs of life. The place is in good repair, grass is cut, so it is not abandoned; but the front door is unlocked and as the crew enter and see the small art gallery set up in the foyer, that strikes them as odd. Standing amongst the statuary is an abstract, but obviously feminine form cast from the blue tinted silver; Sune in Silver. The crew gather around the statue and when Ah-Tun reaches out to touch it there is a bright flash as the statue disappears. In the wake of the light each member of the crew find they have a malady placed on them from the flash; Ah-Tun found he could no longer speak proper nouns, Tor could not tell the truth, Ulfrick found he had to speak in rhyme, Senyo found himself callous and obsessed with the statue. The crew decided to tear the house apart to find the statue and hopefully remove the maladies. In Warricks office they find communications between Warrick and Soma discussing the project and w/ Soma offering to provide the silver for Warrick to use, they also find a deranged writing from Warrick that mentioned that he had a house keeper named Launa and a model staying with him named Vivian. The writings etched themselves on Tor's arm and out of the kitchen a wight wielding a chef's knife at them. Having met and dispatched Lana the crew continue to search the house, occasionally seeing the statue and having it flash away when someone got close to it. Upstairs in the spare bedroom the crew found Vivian, or really Vivian split into two halves after being bisected at the waist. The two ambulatory mounds of flesh cornered Senyo and beat him silly, leaving wounds that bled profusely, but Ah-Tun's fists and heals broke what bone remained in Viv's torso and Tor and Gadget managed to put down what used to be her legs. When the crew approached the 4th sighting of the statue, it flashed again, but this time it stayed put. To everyone's surprise Senyo stood next to the statue and over where he was supposed to be stood a 8 foot tall hunched over monstrosity. It knuckle walked on a set of legs and a set of arms; while a smaller set of clawed hands grasped and dripped with blood, where it's eyes should have been were two tiny arms with an eyeball in each palm. Realizing the jig was up and if he wanted to retain possession of the statue he would have to rid himself of the pesky adventurers in his studio. The new Warrick attacked the crew raining massive claw strikes on both orcs, though every once in a while he stopped and gently dabbed his finger in some of the blood that he was causing to flow freely. He used this blood to finger paint in the air causing wights to pop up and fight for him or to cause effects like mirror image. The boys traded blows with Warrick, sometimes finding it difficult to land a blow though all his blubber, several times Ah-Tun tried his signature leg sweep but each time Warrick saw it coming and managed to steel himself for the blow. Senyo seeing things turning south lobbed a hail Mary and cast a Laughing Fit on Warrick. It seemed the ex-Gnome was not immune to humor and spent the rest of the fight wheezing with laughter between swings at the orcs. The brutal battle between Warrick and the crew continued to the point of the orcs and him reaching exhaustion trading blows, both sides batting away heavy blows that hoped to find purchase. The less exhausted casters on the back finished off Warrick with a barrage of cantrips while the two orcs continued to bleed out from the many wounds they took.
Once the wounded were stablized the crew decided it was time to get the fuck out and bagged the statue and any bit of art that could easily fit into the bag of holding.
Heading back to Bral the crew waste no time tracking down Seth. Now Seth is a professional, and is not really interested it sharing details of who he is importing the metal for, and being surrounded by large bulky associates he was not really amenable to being shaken down by the crews own bulky orcs. Luckily the crew had interrupted Seth and co planning a jailbreak, and he was keenly interested in keeping his hands clean. So he makes an offer; spring his two cooks that were recently captured and bound for forced labor on the Bral farms, and he would inform on his customer. The cooks are being held in a local guard station until they can be moved the next morning. As time is of the essence he shares with the crew the two nascent plans they were working on, either to hit the pen tonight, or to roll the transport in route. The crew decides on the second and plot to ambush the transport at a bend in the road.
Setting up on the roof the crew procures some alchemists fire and barrels of oil, dropping them to box the transport in as it reached the bend. Fire spooks the space hamsters that were drawing the cart, they take off and wedge themselves in an alley. Pulling their masks up Ah-tun and Ulfric advance on the driver and the Ogre that had taken point in the convoy, while Senyo and Tor'vay-nel deciding to stay on the roofs and engage in ranged combat. Ah-Tun hopping on top of the moving cart engaged the driver, and though he managed to knock the guard down and talk prisoners into holding him the moving cart made it hard for him to land a telling blow. Ulfric on the other hand took the Ogre solo, his thick armor soaking all the blows from the giant-kin's great-axe. The squishy members on the roof found themselves face to face with the remaining guard but two on one the manage to put him down. Taking care to leave the guards alive the crew popped the lock and let all the prisoners out, then made their own escape to let the heat subside. Later that night they met back up with Seth to learn that he was commissioned to import all the silver by the famous Bard Soma.
Now, everyone on Bral knows of Soma. He is by far the most popular performer on the rock and his good reputation and philanthropic works have made him a hero to the people, his being blind since birth have helped him to affect an air of humility that has endeared him to all. The crew knew they would have to play their investigations carefully. They started by checking into his philanthropy, visiting the public bath house that he endowed. Tor taking the opportunity to sucker the crew into enjoying a spa day, they find the place well appointed and maintained, but that he doesn't visit the shop often. They learn that he was raised in the church of Sune so their next stop is the House of the Lovers. After wandering the gardens a bit and taking in all the natural beauty they headed into the polished rose marble and gold inlaid temple and work their way into talking to a priest named Rivin Amber who was around as Soma was growing up. He tells them that they couldn't be prouder of his work bringing beauty into the world, and that he lives the ethos of the church with all the scholarships he funds at the bards college. They did manage to get Riven to spill a little tea and they found out that he could never be considered for the clergy even though he is a true believer due to how his blindness limits his ability to appreciate beauty. Lastly they started digging around with the other smugglers in the docks and they found that the silver shipments were not staying on Bral, instead they were bound for Selune.
As night approached they decided that it was best to go see the man in the flesh. Soma is the artist in residence at a swanky pub called The Sublime Nebula, just outside the city wall of the high district. Buying expensive drinks and settling in the crew enjoy watching the man earn his reputation, and after thoroughly enjoying the entertainment they decide it's time to approach him and see what they can get out of him. First Tor tries the fan girl route and while Soma seems more than happy to flirt with anyone who can hold a decent conversation it appeared that Tor did not meet this definition and he was just being polite. Next Senyo stepped up and asked about some of the art that he has commissioned. Soma was more than happy to gush about his protege Warrick Copperhull, who he had commissioned a bunch of statues from. Senyo pivoted and revealed that they had a statue that they think was made by Warrick and that he was hoping that Soma could help to authenticate the statue for them. Interested Soma agrees to meet them the next day, telling them to bring their statue to the House of the Lovers by mid day and he would see if he recognized the work. By this time his assistants had finished collecting tribute from the tavern patrons and with a flourish and a bow he teleported out of the room.
The next day the crew decided to try and use the statue to lure him out and jump him, but the agreed upon meeting spot and time being so public made that a dangerous plan to pull off. Finding Soma in the pleasure gardens they try to keep up the deception and see if they can just talk some stuff out of him. Handing him the statue from monastery they watched as he ran his hands over it appraising the shape and form of the statue. Ah-Tun's sharp eyes caught a momentary crack in Soma's poker face when a jolt of what looked like recognition surfaced when Soma touched the accursed silver. Soma apologized that he did not think the statue was Warrick's work, it was too spindly for his style, but he showed a keen interest in where the crew had acquired it from. They in turn told him the truth, mostly, leaving out the horrors they had witnessed in connection with it. The subject of the medium of the statue came up and the crew got him to admit that it was reminiscent of some silver that Warrick discovered and had become obsessed with recently, you know how artists are. He revealed to the crew that he had commissioned Warrick to make an offering for the church for him, a statue of Sune, that he was expecting to be delivered any day now and that he was planning a soiree to reveal it once it was here. With the authentication complete Soma excused himself and returned to the party he was engaged with when the crew arrived. Bard jumping thwarted, the crew decide the next best course of action is to try to see what Warrick is all about and maybe relieve him of the silver.
The crew make the short flight to Leira, the capitol city on Selune. Once on the moon they find that art is the main export, and there is an entire bureaucracy set up to pair customers with artists. Address to the Copperhull estate in hand the crew make their way. When they arrive they find the place quiet, with no real signs of life. The place is in good repair, grass is cut, so it is not abandoned; but the front door is unlocked and as the crew enter and see the small art gallery set up in the foyer, that strikes them as odd. Standing amongst the statuary is an abstract, but obviously feminine form cast from the blue tinted silver; Sune in Silver. The crew gather around the statue and when Ah-Tun reaches out to touch it there is a bright flash as the statue disappears. In the wake of the light each member of the crew find they have a malady placed on them from the flash; Ah-Tun found he could no longer speak proper nouns, Tor could not tell the truth, Ulfrick found he had to speak in rhyme, Senyo found himself callous and obsessed with the statue. The crew decided to tear the house apart to find the statue and hopefully remove the maladies. In Warricks office they find communications between Warrick and Soma discussing the project and w/ Soma offering to provide the silver for Warrick to use, they also find a deranged writing from Warrick that mentioned that he had a house keeper named Launa and a model staying with him named Vivian. The writings etched themselves on Tor's arm and out of the kitchen a wight wielding a chef's knife at them. Having met and dispatched Lana the crew continue to search the house, occasionally seeing the statue and having it flash away when someone got close to it. Upstairs in the spare bedroom the crew found Vivian, or really Vivian split into two halves after being bisected at the waist. The two ambulatory mounds of flesh cornered Senyo and beat him silly, leaving wounds that bled profusely, but Ah-Tun's fists and heals broke what bone remained in Viv's torso and Tor and Gadget managed to put down what used to be her legs. When the crew approached the 4th sighting of the statue, it flashed again, but this time it stayed put. To everyone's surprise Senyo stood next to the statue and over where he was supposed to be stood a 8 foot tall hunched over monstrosity. It knuckle walked on a set of legs and a set of arms; while a smaller set of clawed hands grasped and dripped with blood, where it's eyes should have been were two tiny arms with an eyeball in each palm. Realizing the jig was up and if he wanted to retain possession of the statue he would have to rid himself of the pesky adventurers in his studio. The new Warrick attacked the crew raining massive claw strikes on both orcs, though every once in a while he stopped and gently dabbed his finger in some of the blood that he was causing to flow freely. He used this blood to finger paint in the air causing wights to pop up and fight for him or to cause effects like mirror image. The boys traded blows with Warrick, sometimes finding it difficult to land a blow though all his blubber, several times Ah-Tun tried his signature leg sweep but each time Warrick saw it coming and managed to steel himself for the blow. Senyo seeing things turning south lobbed a hail Mary and cast a Laughing Fit on Warrick. It seemed the ex-Gnome was not immune to humor and spent the rest of the fight wheezing with laughter between swings at the orcs. The brutal battle between Warrick and the crew continued to the point of the orcs and him reaching exhaustion trading blows, both sides batting away heavy blows that hoped to find purchase. The less exhausted casters on the back finished off Warrick with a barrage of cantrips while the two orcs continued to bleed out from the many wounds they took.
Once the wounded were stablized the crew decided it was time to get the fuck out and bagged the statue and any bit of art that could easily fit into the bag of holding.
Rewards Granted
XP
Ogre 40xpOrc Driver 30XP
Dwarf Guard 30xp
Guard Dogs 10xp (ea)
Total 120xp
(reached Lvl 4. Reset total XP to 0
Investigating Soma 100xp
Final Words Haunt 40xp
Constricting Hallway Trap 60xp
Lana (wight) 30xp
Vivian top half 40xp
Vivian bottom Half 40xp
Warrick (Blood Painter 120xp
Total 430xp
Treasure
Orc Neck Splitter (2g)Large Great Axe (4g)
Ah-Tun's Sticky Fingers 20g
Warrick's lock box containing 30c, 42s, 22g, 3p (56.5g)
Paint making supplies (50g)
Scrimshaw Pipe (20g)
Warrick's portraiture work (200g)
Total 352.5g
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