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The Cabal of Eight – Pt.11: The Under-City Vaults Pt.1

The Underlings, after a confusing and circuitous route, led the young mages to the goal. They were in a large sewer tunnel on a narrow walkway above a flowing river of filth. They showed the mages a small hole bored through the slimy brick and mortar wall. Beneath was a thick oak double-door its bronze hardware severely corroded. Fortunately the ratlings had also tunneled through the moldy wood.

The mages also noticed a bricked up archway in the same sewer wall about 5 feet over. Shrugging all climbed through the ratlings’ hole. Beyond was a 10 ft. wide hall. It was damp and smelled of a strange mixture of foul sewer gas and a dry mustiness. Offset from each other and along either of the western and eastern walls were verdigris covered bronze faces with gaping mouths from which orifices dangled spider-webs and streams of slime dripped.

The bronze faces were a stylized representation of a human (the mages hoped) with a strangely blank, stony expression. Ahead of the group at the other end of the hallway was a set of bronze double-doors scaly with green corrosion and each with the same strange face on it though the mouths closed into a straight stern line and fist-sized diamonds set in the eye sockets. However, the face on the left door was missing one of its precious eyes. The damage on the old bronze was obviously new. As a result of the mages noticing this, the ratling leader felt the need to speak.

Dusk (the ratling gang-leader): “One of ours did that. He tried to pry the gem. It’s just cut glass filled with acid. It broke and destroyed one of his arms. Leave the gems alone.”

Excor (to Dusk): “You SURE there’s no traps here?”

Dusk: “Oh yeah, don’t touch the door, a lightning bolt killed another of ours.”

Cris (Excor’s Player)(in a mocking tone directed at me the GM): “Oh yeah, huh? Forgot to tell us about THAT huh!? Yeah I bet damned little ratling.”

So, the mages carefully studied the doors. They were airtight, and shut-tight with no evidence of any locking mechanism. However, they did find an inscription on each of the doors that read:

Often silent, sometimes gentle, and others a hurricane, cities fall to me and only I can open these doors.

Of course, they easily solved the riddle. Athfonia (played by Perla) cast Wind Rush blowing the doors open. It was as the group began to move over the threshold that Excor remembered that he was still badly wounded from the previous two skirmishes. Consequently, he took the center position within their group formation.

Gornix (played by Gil): “Well that was easy.”

Cris: “It was supposed to be. Just keep a lookout. You never know what could happen!”

Szoosha the Black Scael Naga Fire Elementalist (played by Isis) conjured a flame into his palm for light since Excor had lit a torch. They moved into a small 10 by 10 chamber with an empty alcove in the north and eastern walls. In the west was narrow archway opening onto stone steps going down. The floor was a thick layer of dirt and dust possibly over stone. The room choked with dusty cobwebs that dangled from the domed ceiling.

Cris: “Spider webs huh? So there’s giant spiders down here huh?”

Gil: “How do you know?”

Cris: “There’s always spiders.”

The noses and eyes of all of the mages began to burn due to the swamp gas that had collected in the small room possibly over centuries. Suddenly, Szoo’s flame and Excor’s torch exploded with a blinding blast of flame.

Fortunately, no one was injured perhaps though slightly singed. They waited for a few seconds and sniffed at the air before relighting their lights. Meanwhile Gornix lit the crystal on his staff (the crystal being enchanted with the Torch Light cantrip) ‘just in case’. They elected Szoo to lead them for the time being. The naga’s Detection skill was the highest of the group, which wasn’t saying much. Needless to say Szoo was a bit reluctant.

Szoo: “Me!? What about the ratlings!?”

Dusk (waving from the hallway): “Ha! Yer on yer own. We’ll wait for ya here for a couple a’ days before leaving!”

Isis: “What!? They’ll just leave us here!”

Cris: “No. If we don’t come back they’ll assume we’re dead and they won’t come down and check.”

Isis: “Oh. That makes sense.”

After some prodding Szoo reluctantly began to lead the group down the long case of stone steps that sank down into darkness. The room that dimly unfolded before him had a 12 ft. high vaulted ceiling and four thick stone columns standing along its center. There were multiple empty wall niches and a thick netting of dirty spiders’ webs strewn over the whole drastically obscuring his vision. The room also stank strongly of sewer gas.

Isis (Szoo’s player)(referring to the spider webs): “I set them on FIRE! I like to BURN things!”

So of course Szoo threw fire at the cobwebs and not only did most of the webs in the room burst into intense blindingly bright flames but a pocket of sewer gas exploded as well. Szoo was slightly injured by the blast. Webs continued to veil the vaulted ceiling and the far corners of the room however.

The other mages moved into the room one at a time until all of them gathered at one end of the gallery. They slowly began to move forward to the other when Gornix spotted something and alerted the others. It was a large spider’s egg suspended and pulsating between the second and third pillars at about the center of the room.

Excor: “$#!t! BURN it! BURN it now!”

Excor glanced at the niches in the walls nervously. All the while something in the webs above crept over them. Suddenly, a giant black spider dropped onto Szoo’s shoulders sinking its fangs into the naga mage’s scaly flesh. The spider’s venom paralyzed Szoosha as well injuring him.

Szoo: “Um. Guys? I’m a little HURT here!”

Gornix cast Illuminate lighting up most of the room and revealing two more giant black spiders scuttling on the ceiling towards them. Athfonia cast Neutralize Poison on Szoosha in time to negate both the paralysis and the damaging effects of the venom. The third spider leapt at Gornix biting him injecting its paralyzing toxin into his bloodstream. The second spider leapt at Excor but failed critically falling to the floor injuring itself. Excor blasted the second spider with his copper spike further injuring it. The first spider grappled with Szoosha. Szoo tried to shape-shift out of the grapple but failed. Fauna cast Neutralize Poison on Gornix.

Gornix cast Chrono-Missile at number three. It tried to dodge but got hit anyway suffering moderate injury. The second spider flipped over and sank its black verminous fangs into Excor paralyzing him. The first spider maintained its grip on Szoo and tried to bite him but missed by a hair’s breadth. After that scare, Szoo was able, just barely, to break the grapple and throw the thing off of him.

Gornix let loose more chrono-missiles at number three horribly wounding it. In response, the creature spat webbing at the salt-lotus mage but missed. The second spider crawled onto Excor’s boneless body and number one spat webs at Szoo fortunately also missing its target.

Gornix (using his Spell Slinger feat) cast more chrono-missiles at the third spider. Its verminous body bursting splattering custard-colored crud everywhere as a result.  Its black legs curled and it crumpled into a hideous black ball.

Gornix then cast Neutralize Poison on Excor. Fauna dropped her lantern and whipped her staff at the nearest spider. The staff flying from her hands to clatter into a niche. Spider number two grappled Excor as he tried to move. Spider number one tried to grapple with Szoo but failed to gain a grip. Szoo called forth his flaming naginata. Athfonia pierced the first spider’s abdomen with her spear. Excor tried desperately to break spider number two’s grip.

Cris: “Man, if that thing bites me one more time I’m dust!”

Gornix cast Chrono-Missile on number-two wounding it badly and drew his scimitar. Spider number-two tried to gain a grip in order to try to bite but failed (N1) and fell from Excor. Spider number-one bit Szoo after the naga failed to dodge paralyzing him with its venom his fire weapon fluttering out of existence. This caused Szoo to make a recovery roll to prevent from being killed by the damaging effects of the spider’s poison.

Finally Gornix stepped into the fray and slashed at the second spider hacking the already badly wounded spider in two with his sword. Athfonia lunged at the last spider with her spear impaling it through its abdomen killing it. She pulled her viscera greased spear from its still twitching corpse.

With the battle over Excor cast Neutralize Poison on Szoo and Close Wounds on himself. Athfonia cast Heal Other on both Excor and Szoosha. After first aid, their attentions turned towards the pulsating giant spiders’ egg still in the room. Surprisingly it hadn’t burst during the commotion of the fight. Apparently, it was not yet ready to hatch and release its swarm of deadly young spiders.

Szoo: “I should set it on FIRE!”

The rest of the group (collectively): “NO!”

Therefore, they left the egg unmolested and continued on with a somewhat disappointed Szoosha in the lead. The rest kept their eyes glued to the ceiling as they proceeded.

To Be Continued…

The Cabal of Eight Pt.10: Tunnel Rats

In front of the heavy just shut door of the Pesters’ Guild, Gornix (played by Gil) introduced Doubab the ratter to the group. After a short time he agreed to guide them into the rat fights underneath the Ruined Wall. It would be in a few hours at sundown that evening. As they departed their guide on their way to kill the last remaining few hours at the Red Helm Fauna (played by Jenn) pulled a bundle of rat-tails from her cloak.

It was the bunch that the pickpocket (see The Cabal of Eight Pt. 6: Gold Devil) had dropped when Fauna caught him trying to pick the golden bee. The bunch tied with a broad yellow ribbon. As she handed it to Doubab, “for your troubles” Excor (played by Cris) and Athfonia (played by Perla) saw a slight change pass over his already pinched features. They walked back across the city to the Red Helm tavern to wait until near sundown.

Later, as they stumbled out of the Helm’s door into the street they realized something. They were still wounded from their fight with the red imps. Gornix tucked a dusty carved-glass bottle of whiskey he had bought from the bartender for 8 gp into his robes. He cast Close Wounds on Szoosha (played by Isis). Excor followed suit casting Close Wounds on Fauna who had just chugged a full tankard before hitting the door.

They tried to avoid the main streets deciding to weave through the alleyways as they headed east towards their appointment. This was due to their fearing that jumping one of the city’s criminals might have dire consequences. They reached a fairly wide, round mini-plaza as the building dwarfing aqueducts worked their way north to a public fountain across from the Old Amphitheater. The place was quiet, dark, and deserted save for the small clumps of garbage that lay everywhere. Some of the lighter bits of the detritus stirred and slid across the old paving in a chill evening breeze.

It was when they neared a massive arch that three thugs stepped from behind the wall. One armed with a pair of knives, one in each hand, another with a crude wooden cudgel and the apparent leader was armed with a quarter staff. All were wearing scavenged soft leather armor reinforced with a maddening number of studs and rivets.

Staff-Bearing Thug: “So what do we have here? Y’know we followed you guys for quite a while. You remember what you Did! You robbed a Bronzehead, now’s yer gonna give us back his dagger and suffer the consequences!”

Athfonia immediately tried to cast Call Lightning but failed. Excor drew his copper spike and zapped the Cudgel bearing thug hurting him. Gornix tried to summon an earth elemental but failed. Szoo cast Elemental Half-Plate Armor (Fire) on himself. Fauna cast Sleep on the Pole-Fighter but to no effect. The Pole-Fighter ran up critically striking Fauna with one end of his staff. Fortunately Fauna parried the other with her dagger. The knife-fighter slashed at Szoosha but was unable to penetrate the Naga’s fiery armor. The cudgel-thug attacked Excor but missed with a clumsy swing.

Gornix cast Summon Elemental IV summoning two medium sized earth elementals which erupted from the ground right next to two of the young thugs. The first humanoid rock creature snatched up the pole-fighter in an unbreakable grip. The second monster body slammed the knife-fighter wounding him badly after the mugger failed his dodge. Szoo summoned forth his fire naginata and slashed at the cudgel thug opening his belly killing him. Meanwhile the thug-leader, the pole-fighter, strained desperately trying to break the stony grip that held him fast. Gornix cast Chrono-Missile on the knife-fighter wounding him horribly.

On Gornix’s orders one of the elementals squeezed the pole-fighter. The thug-leader screamed at a high pitch and they could hear some of his ribs crack as blood ran from his nose and mouth. The second elemental slammed into the already wounded knife-fighter. His corpse reduced to a wad of blood-soaked rags flew about 20 feet through the air ultimately splattering all over the wall of a nearby building. The pole-fighter began pathetically begging for his life and crying that he “didn’t want to die”.

After a brief interrogation Gornix got the name of the Bronzehead whose knife they took when they tried to capture him (see The Cabal of Eight Pt. 7: A Red Rat). It was “Drazra”. These three were just wannabe’s that Drazra had recruited to get his dagger back and teach the four mages that accosted him a lesson. After a brief speech on the perils of street life by Gornix, they let the beaten and bleeding pole-fighter limp away into the shadows of the darkening city. After Excor and Szoo looted the corpses they continued on their way to the Rat Fights.

They eventually met Doubab in a small building-locked plaza in front of the ragged end of the Ruined Wall. The old archer galleries served as an enclosed and self-governed town within the city. There was a long line of people representative of all of the social strata of Ezmer. They were waiting their turn to walk under makeshift stone archway. It seemed to lead through a flickering firelight to a stair down under the open face of the Ruined Wall. A pair of chain-shirted Bronzehead thugs were acting as security and charging a door fee.

Doubab the ratter shuffled them into line and eventually down into the excavated pits in and below the foundation of the old wall. Of course, after they each paid the 1 silver piece cover charge. They walked down into a large rectangular chamber with a terraced floor at four different levels. The rats were unleashed on each other in a small depression packed with cages and trainers at the deepest level over which all the other levels looked over.

There were several open archways some undoubtedly led into the sewer system underneath the city. A few had doors which perhaps led to the upper levels of the Ruined Wall. Each guarded by an armored Bronzehead.  On the top tier floor were the betting tables with a visible and small force of well-armed thugs. The golden light of torches, braziers, and oil lamps permeated the place as did the overpowering scent of strong incense leaking from large brass censers hovering like a thick fog over the slight moist stench of the city sewers.

Fauna spotted a fat merchant in blue robes running a table that she recognized from the Druid Cult (see The Cabal of Eight Pt.2: Wagon Ho!) by his golden necklace, a jeweled dragonfly. She leaned in and eventually clued him in on how she recognized him. He referred to her as “little sister” and warned her not to be too public about their “thing”. She walked away and they both nodded as she departed.

Szoo (to Fauna): “What the hell was THAT?!”

Fauna (with a sly smile): “Oh nothing.”

Cris (Excor’s Player)(sarcastically): “Oh yeah, nothing! Right. It’s her little stupid cult thing! Yeah, nothing. Don’t get mixed up in that s#!*!”

The young mages gathered about the edge of the second from the bottom tier to watch the sport.

Fauna (after the first match): “This is DISGUSTING guys! I refuse to watch this!”

Excor: “Why? You knew what this was. It’s called the rat fights! The RAT FIGHTS!”

At about the third match, the match announced to pit the Pesters’ Guild Rat named ‘Old Man’ against ‘a promising newcomer’ named ‘Gnaw-Skull’ owned by the Underlings. The Old Man was a rather large rat missing large patches of hair and its body a scorecard in scars of its brutal career. While the Underlings’ rat was a slightly smaller black rat with long yellow teeth. The Old Man was fat and calm as the cages were held and paraded for the benefit of the gamblers. In contrast Gnaw-Skull was hostile to its handler through the woven wood bars of its cage.

Hence Excor and Szoo rushed to the tables to place their bets on the ‘Old Man’ whom the odds favored by a mile. Predictably the Old Man tore Gnaw-Skull apart in record time. As a result, the Underlings, a group of sketchy looking and filthy ratlings wearing crude leather armor and armed with fairly nice daggers and short-swords, were in an uproar. Excor and Szoo won 1 silver piece each.

The Underlings were preparing to cut their losses and leave when the mages decided to approach the one that appeared to be their leader. As a result of Excor dropping Afsik’s name their leader, a ratling with an eye-patch and whitening gray fur, approached from a dark corner of the pits. He lit his pipe while appraising the young mages one at a time with his blood-shot eye.

Dusk: “I’m Dusk, the ratling yer lookin’ fer. Afsik’s got faith enough in ya to send you ta us then I guess we’ll take you. Now. Follow us magelings.”

Gornix was going to say goodbye to Doubab but his contact to the Pesters’ Guild seemed utterly consumed in the sport of the rat-fights. So he decided to simply leave with the rest of the cabal mages. They were led down into one of the large lower archways and continued around a bend until the air signaled that they had left the fighting pits.

At first it was a relief from the pungent scented smoke until the cool air became even more pungent with the metallic smell of fresh, wet sewage. The only light came from Fauna’s lantern which she had lit as they disembarked and the glowing crystal on top of Gornix’s staff.

Dusk: “Oh yeah, if ya see a fog creepin’ over the waters or clingin’ to the ceiling don’t stick yer face in it.”

Szoo: “Why?”

Dusk: “Its sewer gas and it’ll kill ya. It’s flammable too.”

Fauna: “Great.”

To Be Continued…

 

The Cabal of Eight Pt.9: Imp Attack!

Szoo (played by Isis), Gornix (played by Gil), led by Excor (played by Cris) left the Red Helm after Impbreakfast and ‘swooped’ by the Grove to ‘scoop up’ the druidess Fauna (played by Jenn). They were on their way to see Afsik the strange the antiquarian at his shop in the Harbor District.

Szoo, Gornix, and Fauna related the previous night’s shenanigans to Excor. Bumble was fine the stun bolt to the head had just knocked her out. They had ‘confiscated’ the book ‘for her safety’. Excor couldn’t wait to ‘dig through that book’ when he got the chance.

Excor: “Vordan‘s tome huh?” Cris scratched the name into his notebook.

It was not long before they were walking into the tiny shop stuffed with every kind of knickknack, odd-and-end, and curious object. All of it was obviously very old and most was not very well cared for. Some however, did appear to be some sort of plunder. All was covered in dust, cobwebs, and all the iron was rusty and the bronze covered in verdigris.

The dark shop was damp and smelled strongly of a salty must that collects in derelict buildings close to the sea. A sudden disembodied exclamation from the piles of junk surprised the young mages, “What’re ya here for?”

Excor: “Belrae sent us; we were told there’s a job here?”

Afsik: “Oh yeah. Ya look like mages, yes. Okay. Sure you don’t wanna buy nuthin’, no? No. Okay, well then…”

They heard a couple of unseen objects fall to the floor. Glimpses of the shadowy figure of a rat leapt back and forth through the tangle of junk. A ratling, landed with a light thud on top of an old trunk before them. His light brown fur tinged with white especially that on his face. He was also a bit more rotund than most other ratlings that they had heretofore seen.

Afsik: “I do have some work. It is dangerous and requires you to go below the city to the sewers.”

Excor: “What does it pay?”

Afsik: “500 gold pieces each. I’ll pay half upfront. Yes?”

Excor (looking back at the rest): “Sounds good to me.”

They had accepted Afsik’s job, they were to seek out something called the “Dungeon Heart”, a red gem that shone with white light, and bring it back to the ratling antiquarian. They were to contact the Underlings, a ratling gang with control of the Ezmer sewers who would guide them to its location. Their Underling contact was one named ‘Dusk’. They were going to have to go to the rat fights held under the Ruined Wall in the demesne of the Bronzeheads to meet the ratlings.

They decided to seek out Gornix’s contact, Doubab of the Pesters’ Guild. The guild was a frequent participant in the rat fights that occurred every other week under the old wall. As the group left the small, dusty shop the tall figure of a young woman jogged towards them from the east. It was Athfonia (played by Perla). She had been sleeping on the beach near the lumber mill essentially ‘bumming it’ around the Harbor District of Ezmer.

So Gornix, Excor, Fauna, Szoo, and Athfonia together at last, began their long walk to the Pesters’ Guild House to see Doubab, Excor’s contact. Hopefully he could guide them to the rat fights helping to avoid any potential fatal pitfalls.

They wended their way along the foot of the beach cliff that stood between the Harbor District and the city proper. They walked up the ramp towards and then through the Four Gate Tower at the top along with an increasing flow of foot and light wagon traffic. Their path took them along the Outer Rung, a wide avenue that ran straight over the face of the Slavers’ Quarter. One side of the wide street lined with pens, pits and slave-marts, the other, shops and other common places of business.

They continued through the increasing press of traffic until they reached a public fountain that lay along their road. They turned off into the small circular paved plaza that surrounded it to refresh themselves. The plaza was mildly crowded with several folks sitting along the high stone curbing of the massive fountain. Some were dipping their buckets or jacks others were wetting rags and wiping themselves down.

A short distance across from the fountain some carriages had stopped in front of a large multistory shop of some sort. Painted on the sides of three of these carriages was an orange escutcheon bearing a barrel and a grain sack as charges with oak leaves and an acorn at helm. A family motto scrawled in Hyvalian characters along the bottom. The young mages saw a man in his late forties with a cruel expression stamped deep into his sunbaked features make his way to the central carriage dressed in finery of the most current fashion. Several armed footmen also in fine threads and arming doublets the orange shield emblazoned on their chests accompanied him.

Gornix: “Wow. Who is this guy?”

Excor: “According to the motto, the family Nezorik?”

Fauna: “Why does that sound familiar?”

As they gawked, a sturdy but short girl dressed in a fine silk and lace gown followed her elder. The girl turned and seeming to recognize them shouted “Hey Guys” and proceeded to jog clumsily to them waving her arm as if they couldn’t already see her. She tripped a few times but the pair of footmen accompanying her were able to prevent her from eating the age-worn paving.

The Players (pretty much all at once): “Bumble!?”

Of course, she was wondering what they were up to and was begging to come along. Excor was extra charming as he chatted her up finding out the older gentleman was her father. Baerox was his name. They were there to bid at one of the slave-marts. However, that ‘was sooo boring’.

Bumble: “Father wants a real fighter. He wants to get into the games.”

The group eventually decided to take her along. Of course, they had to allow her footmen to accompany them due to her father’s distant orders. Bumble had one of her footmen act as the back and forth messenger. They were on their way again just before high noon.

As they continued, Bumble and her men began to lag behind, the footmen duty bound to keep pace with Ilna. They had just made it about a block past the city offices and turned onto a narrow street that took them into the East District.

Isis (Szoo’s player; looking at the group copy of the city map): “You can sure tell this is the POOR district!”

Suddenly Bumble screamed and her guards shouted as they surrounded her. There were four red bat-winged imps snatching with their horny claws at bumble’s dress.

Fauna: “CRAP! I gave her the BEE back!”

Jenn: “She didn’t give it back to her father?”

The GM (me): “Apparently not.”

Fauna cast Wind Rush sending the nearest imp careening into Bumble knocking her to the ground and the imp out. Imp number four reared and blew its fiery breath at the young mages. Szoosha making a simultaneous attack diverted the flames with his elemental power. Excor pulled his copper spike, a level one rod of Lightning Bolts, from under his robes and blasted the grounded imp hurting it. Athfonia cast Throw Flames but to no effect. The imps were fire imps. Gornix cast Chrono-Missile at the grounded imp hurting it badly. Imp number two burst into flames and clawed at Gornix narrowly missing. Number three also burst into flames and raked Excor with its claws wounding him.

Bumble’s footmen had already dragged her from the fray and were running away as fast as they could whilst dragging their burden. Imp number four cast a curse in Gornix’s direction but he was able to resist. Szoo cast Elemental Half-Plate Armor on Excor. The flames engulfed his body before hardening into a glowing glass-like material. He was wounded more than he had at first realized. Gornix attempted to cast Chrono-Missile yet again but the magic went out of his control. The resulting explosion blasted them horribly injuring all and killing Imp number four. The hideous hoof-footed creature screamed as it disappeared in a puff of flame and fetid sulfurous smoke.

Fauna, Szoo, and Athfonia were stunned by the blast (making Recovery checks to keep from dying). Gornix moved to Fauna and cast Close Wounds. Imp number one came to; he had completely avoided the magic explosion by a razor thin margin, and snatched something up as he snickered maniacally. Excor tried to blast number one with his spike but the creature was completely unharmed. The remaining two other imps leapt up from the ground to which they had been thrown. Gornix let loose more chrono-missiles at number one but did no damage. So Szoo summoned up his fire naginata and stabbed number one killing it instantly. As a result, Gornix jumped to where it had been laying and snatched up the gold bee trapped in amber stuffing it in his robes.

Gornix then cast Ghost Form on himself. Szoo cast Elemental Half-Plate Armor on Fauna to protect her. Fauna tried to cast Lightning Bolt at number three but the magic got out of her control and instead healed the creature slightly. Athfonia applied her Heal Other spell to Szoo. Number three surged at the black scaled Naga and scratched him. Number two followed suit and also scratched Szoo with its claws. Excor leveled his copper spike at Number two and blasted it away back to whatever fiery hell it came from. Gornix unleashed a Lightning Bolt at the last remaining imp blasting away most of the flesh from its chest. Immediately Szoo slashed at the creature cutting it. The little monster backed off and disappeared in a puff of acrid yellow smoke. Finally, Gornix cast Close Wounds on himself.

Afterwards they assessed the situation and finding the battle done decided to carry on. Bumble and her footmen were long gone.

Fauna: “Aww man. We got the BEE again.”

Excor: “We better keep it. Something wants it bad so it’s some weird artifact or something.”

Szoo: “Those things were tough!”

Excor: “Yeah, whatever summoned ‘em is probably tougher!”

Fauna: “Well, here YOU take it.”

Excor: “What are you kidding!? I don’t want that THING!”

They double timed it to the guild house and were soon playing a game of door tag with the unseen doorman through a shudder-slit in a heavy oak and iron door.

Isis: “Y’know I don’t think we’re in the MOOD for THIS!”

To Be Continued…

 

The Cabal of Eight Pt.8: A Second Meeting

The cabal’s newest member had just made his mark on the contract. Ilna (aka Bumble) jerkily leaned Nezorik Family Seal (Bumble)over the octagonal meeting table to shake Szoosha’s scaly hand knocking over her own ale. In a clumsy effort at a greeting Bumble also casually mentioned that her ‘father has two Naga slaves’. She stopped suddenly when she realized what she was coming out of her mouth.

Isis (Szoosha’s Player): “Oh gee, that’s GREAT!”

Jenn (Fauna’s Player): “Aww, don’t hold it against her.”

Excor (Played by Cris) raised a toast to new members noting that the Ferenoi, Athfonia (played by Perla), was strangely absent. All raised their cups in Szoo’s honor and drank up.

Belrae (the cabal leader): “I suppose all of you know it’s been declared a Dragon Summer this season?”

The cabal leader continued to explain after Excor and Gornix’s inquiries as to exactly what is a Dragon Summer. Basically, the summer is unusually hot and humid with frequent thunderstorms occurring just off shore. It occurs every 8 years or so, the cycle is not consistent. It’s also dragon mating season when the Whers of the Southland tend to congregate on and around Ezmeria especially the Ezmerian Headland.

Cris and Gil’s heads bobbed vacuously acknowledging the info-dump as probably did their characters. Cris consulted his notes.

Excor (to Belrae): “Hey, isn’t this an election year? So what’s going on with that?”

The political body of Ezmeria is housed entirely within the city walls save for the administrators of the Breadbasket and the surrounding terrain. The body politic is composed of the Electorate (citizens with the power to cast votes), a small body of representatives from the Breadbasket, and two of what can be called Political Parties.

These parties are the Gold Sashes and the Oaks. The Gold Sashes, supported by the Golden Devil West Company, represent business interests and rich merchants. The Oaks pander to the majority landowners but money and contributions tend to direct their politics. As the Oaks are concerned with placating the poor with bread, they typically have the support of the Breadbasket.

Excor: “So whose side are WE on?”

Belrae (somewhat sternly): “Neither. Stay out of politics.”

Belrae went on to mention that a Blackship of the Deadlands is at port in the Slavers’ Castle. Aboard is a gladiator of renown, Skullbash, and his manager. It was obvious that he and Riahm were curious about the Deadlander manager and even half-jokingly mentioned something about ‘purchasing a couple of zombies’. However, their joke fell flat.

Gornix (Played by Gil): “So, um, anyone hear about this Ssthris guy? No? Oh, ok.”

Gornix also mentioned his run-in with Wensaer the Obsidian Guild alchemist and asked about the Sapphire guild. Belrae and the rest agreed that a guild contact would be great but the Sapphire guild, which is typically restricted to nobility or the like, has a traditional and tight grip on the city.

Smalltalk ensued as no one else seemed to have any information of note until Excor, Gornix, and Fauna began complaining of being broke and looking for a job. Belrae told them that he knew of one Afsik the strange, an antiquarian in the Harbor District, who was looking for some mages to hire. But for what he didn’t know. Although, he had it on good authority that Afsik paid well. He gave the three mages the antiquarian’s address.

As the meeting began to wind down Belrae stood and made an announcement that he and Riahm will be absent the next meeting (the meeting of the 21st of Early Summer) and possibly the next as they are joining the College Expedition into the Red Waste beyond the Southern Grasslands to investigate some ruins. Belrae adjourns the meeting.

Before the cabal’s young leader and his compatriot can even rise to leave Excor & Gornix get Riahm to exchange some spells from his grimoire. The plucky pair traded the bard/sorcerer Summon Elemental IV for Invisibility I. He gave them Appraise & Far Hand for Magic Globe & Clairvoyance. When Belrae noticed, he acquired the Lightning Bolt spell in exchange for Potion Formula: Slumber.

Meanwhile, Fauna asked Bumble to join her at the bar. Ilna bounced in her seat and snorted in excitement. Downstairs, Szoo joined Bumble and Fauna as they bellied up to the board. Fauna asked after Bumble’s master as the ale was served. Ilna happily told Fauna his name, ’Xanto some people call him the Wasp I guess’. He had apparently found himself in some sort of trouble somewhere far northeast of the city in a town called Skullhead. Her father was sheltering him on condition of her apprenticeship.

Jenn: “Aww man! It IS him! The WASP!”

Cris: “OF COURSE it is! You didn’t think her master was anyone else did you?”

Later, after copying spells, and as Jirek was packing his secretarial kit away, Excor invited the young scribe to drinks. After getting a table in the theater and getting a ‘decent but not expensive’ bottle of wine Excor led Jirek into a conversation. A minstrel was on stage singing a fine rendition of the Ballad of Redtooth. It was a very prosaic song prolific throughout the Westlands and Southlands.

In the course of their conversation, Excor found out about Jirek’s lack of family and his inheritance, which consisted of a completely empty storehouse at the far eastern section of the Harbor District. Excor began chatting him up about getting access to the college library his original intention behind the invitation. One successful Charm roll later and Jirek said to get a hold of him in a few days and maybe he can see about doing something for him.

Excor (to Jirek while preemptively refilling his cup): “Have some more wine my friend.”

Meanwhile at the bar, Fauna and Szoo continued to chat up Bumble who volunteered that her father had a substantial collection of books in his library. It wasn’t long after that, by coincidence or not, that Gornix strolled up. Bumble began to clumsily flirt with the young Ivoran wizard, he flirted back (using his +5 Bea and CHA to his advantage) and the tipsy girl was smitten.

It was not long before he seduced her into taking all three of them back to her family’s place and into her father’s library. Outside of the tavern she hailed a coach to the other mages’ elation and they rode ‘in style’ to the Western Cliffs District past the security gate and wall up to a large stone block manor complete with footmen awaiting her arrival.

Less than an hour later in the private library of the Nezorik family manor the young mages were already eyeballing the spines of the books that crowded the packed shelves of the lone bookcase as Bumble lighted the candelabras.  Fauna sensed a magic tome and pointed it out to Gornix.

Jenn: “I’m not touching it.”

Gornix lifted the hefty leather-bound book from its bowed shelf.  He cracked open the large book and tried to decipher the markings, which were in magic script on the first page but failed. Fauna was able to make out an enchanted signature next to a sigil, which read Vordan the Magnificent.

Bumble had been telling them that her father couldn’t read but enjoyed having the luxury of books. He enjoyed showing off the illustrations and illuminated texts to his guests. When she realized nobody was listening she turned from the tapers. She saw her friends were hunched over a select tome.

She squeezed between them and said, “I haven’t seen this one before”. Before those words had even completely passed her lips, she poked the magic sigil on the very first page with her plump finger.  Immediately a bolt of blue energy struck her in the head and she collapsed to the floor.

Isis: “Oh GAWD! We killed her!”

To Be Continued…

The Cabal of Eight Pt.7: A Red Rat

The thug was nervously waving his dagger as he slowly backed away from the table while the group of The Bronzeheads red rat worn by the thugyoung mages tried to tighten the noose they had him in. Gornix (played by Gil) had already moved around to the opposite side of the thug between him and the door. Excor was keeping his distance but was approaching in a position angled just from where Fauna (played by Jenn) was standing trying to cut off a path to behind the bar.

Fauna was trying to “talk him down” but only accomplished in him pointing the tip of his blade at her. However, the druidess was able to discern the mark of the Bronzeheads on his chain-shirt; a fading painted red rat across his chest. In the meantime, Szoosha (played by Isis) was still at a nearby table eating.

After a few minutes, the Bronzehead seemed to resign himself to the situation. Taking a deep breath, he sheathed his dagger. He calmly wiped back his greasy hair from his face and then immediately lunged at Fauna. She sidestepped as he ran past her and around the corner past Szoo’s table. Excor, instead of running behind the bar to try to cut him off turned to pursue, as did Gornix pushing past Fauna. The thug stumbled drunkenly past the curtained booths and towards the door that led to the rear hallway. He threw it open and dashed in well ahead of his pursuers. However, he immediately smashed into a waiter with a tray full of food and beer who was standing just behind the threshold.

Bouncing off the unfortunate waiter the thug flew back, hit the floor, knocking himself out. The young mages caught up and helping the waiter to his feet gave him a small “tip” while excusing their “drunken friend”.  Gornix “helped” the unconscious thug to a chair pulled from the nearby-unoccupied table. He also took the “precaution” of searching him confiscating 50 gold devils, 8 gold pieces, and 7 silver pieces in the process.

Afterwards, the trio, plus Szoosha as he slithered up in mid conversation, began to argue about exactly what constituted “interrogation”.

Gornix: “I mean, … we gotta torture him, right? To get him to talk.”

Excor: “No. I mean … well I’m not gonna do it.”

Cris (Excor’s Player): “I’m good I can’t torture anybody! Hey wait … YOUR good too!”

Szoosha: “Yeah, yeah, let’s cut his fingers off!”

Fauna: “Guys? We’re in the middle of the tavern.”

Gornix: “Let’s take him to the cabal room!”

Excor: “We can’t torture him!”

Szoosha: “I’ll do it, he probably deserves it!”

Gornix: “See, Szoosha will do it.”

Excor (Pointing at Szoo): “NO! First of all I don’t want to bring somebody up there we don’t know! And we can’t torture him IN the room!”

After a short while the thug stirred in his seat as he began to come to. As a result, Fauna ducked around the corner into the rear hallway. Gornix readied his staff and Excor was going to try to “play it off”.

Excor (addressing the newly conscious thug): “Ah my friend you’re awake! We found you …”

Without a word, the thug erupted from his seat lunging towards the open doorway and pulling his dagger in a single fluid action. Excor leaped back and out of the way.

Excor (to Gornix): “You stole his money but forgot his dagger!?”

Cris: “You know that money goes to group right.”

Meanwhile, the Bronzehead was through the door and into the rear hallway heading for the backdoor into the alleyway. Fauna cast Invisible to Sight on herself and moved around the corner. Excor cast Blinding Flash not only blinding his target but also Gornix and Szoo. Gornix tried to blindly chase after the thug but wound up crashing into a wall and falling on his butt. Of course, Szoosha repeated that mistake and bounced off the doorjamb falling across the hallway floor. His tail tumbling underneath the feet of the fleeing thug tripping him up.

The fleeing Bronzehead slammed into the floor with a crash and the creak of over-stressed wood. His fine dagger flew from his grip clattering into a corner as his face met the floorboards.  Gornix, still blinded, got to his feet. Szoo, still blinded as well, also rose.

Though Fauna remained where she was should Excor let anymore spells fly. Gornix cast Invisibility I on himself disappearing from sight. Leaping over Szoo’s tail Excor ran past the thug on the ground and leapt onto the stairs (for some reason). Szoo cast Eternal Flame holding the bright red fire in his hand (for some reason). So, the thug jumped to his feet positioning himself to leap through the backdoor and out of the tavern.

Gornix regaining most of his sight rushed over to where the thug dropped the dagger and picked up the knife. Szoosha dismissing the crimson flame tried to press the thug into a wall with his scaly bulk but tripped over his own coils and face planted. Then the panicked thug jumped through the door smashing it open with his body and running out into the darkness.

Cris (to Jenn): “WELL! Track ‘em Druid, don’t you have tracking!”

Excor and Szoosha stayed behind and talked as Fauna ran after the Bronzehead hot on his trail with Gornix following behind her. So, the pursuing pair dashed through narrow alleys choked with piles of trash and filth. Their heavy steps splashed through dirty puddles and the salt in the warm summer night air set their lungs on fire. They passed under a massive white aqueduct arch that towered well over the surrounding three and four story buildings. Even the ghostly layer of smog visible in the moonlight hovered below its massive curve. Fauna shot around a corner with Gornix biting at her heels.

Suddenly she stopped. As a result Gornix slammed into her back forcing her face first into a filthy puddle and into a lot of what was hopefully mud. Fauna got up and collected her senses but found she had lost the rogue’s trail. Gornix remembering that he had the fugitive’s dagger cast Clairvoyance on it. But he didn’t get much, it was brand new and of superior quality. Although he did notice a maker’s mark stamped into its ricasso. It was a tiny acorn with a stylized Hyvalian character at center.

A little while after but still hot (and soiled) from the chase, Gornix and Fauna rejoined their companions at the Red Helm Tavern. They found Excor and Szoo at the bar talking with Draega Skullshine. They had the skinny on the red rat (the symbol of the Bronzeheads) and some semi-new information on Ssthris. The Bronzeheads were most probably protecting him for some reason or another somewhere within the old eastern wall or in the ruined tower. The red rat signified the rat fights that the Ezmerian mob oversaw.

Fauna: “That’s DIS-gusting! Poor little rats. Rat fights that’s horrible.”

Excor: “Rats pfft! I hope they all die! Disease carrying VERMIN! … Wait.”

Cris (to Gil): “Dude! Don’t you have a contact for that!”

Gil: “Um what? Oh yeah, um, Doubab? From the Pester’s Guild?”

Cris: “When’s the next cabal meeting? We should go talk to that guy after next meeting.”

The group of young, somewhat exhausted, and slightly sore mages decided to call it a night. As a result Excor left heading straight for his apartment to the southeast and Szoo headed back to the attic room he was staying in at the harbor across from the Rondel (a very successful seaside brothel in a reclaimed stone tower). Gornix accompanied Fauna to the central grove (basically Ezmer’s Central Park). Shortly, the pair ran across the groundskeeper who was familiar to Fauna.

So, she “scored” some yellow lotus from Anishi the groundskeeper and declared to the other two: “We’re communing with nature my friends.”

They were sitting near the center of the old menhir circle at the head of the park within sight of the city scaffolds. Anishi passed out the bumps and shortly after snorting the drug Fauna fell unconscious caught in a lotus dream. However, Gornix entered into a strange hypnotic state. As he leaned back and closed his eyes, he suffered weird visions.

His mind’s eye swirled into confusion and chaos and after what seemed forever, form began to emerge from the liquid darkness. There was blazing firelight without source in his eyes and faint rhythmic chanting rose in his ears. He could see a deep pit, a grave surrounded by a dozen blue-cloaked figures lowering another bound as a mummy in knotted cloth. Bronze masks detailed with curled locks, headbands, and smooth youthful faces covered all of their heads. The squirming mummy being lowered into the pit also bore a golden crown on his head, a king of old! His wide eyes glaring in horror from the eyeholes in his mask. The other figures were burying him alive! Gornix’s mind reeled and shot up into the air the strange blue druidic figures fading away replaced by the menhir circle under moonlight.

He could see his own body as well as that of Fauna sleeping on the grass. Without warning, his vision was propelled at tremendous speed southward over the tree tops of the grove to stop and sink into the darkness of the old amphitheater at the foot of the park. Among its shadows stood the dark outline of a wizard with a long beard, a sword at his side. Before that comparably imposing figure was a young boy, a street urchin with the impression of a pickpocket.

Gil: “Whhait!”

Me (the GM): “What?”

Gil: “Is this the guy we’re after?”

Me: “Nope. This isn’t Ssthris, the figure you see is humanoid not a naga.”

Gil: “Oh, okay.”

In silhouette, the wizard slapped the pickpocket after he presented both of his small hands as empty. Then a bright hot golden-white light began to sting his eyes. The next thing that Gornix could recall was sitting straight up dazzled by the late morning sun.  Gornix shot up and went looking for an alchemist’s shop. He had wasted valuable time. Eventually he found himself at a small out of the way shop after finding the dominant Sapphire-guilded alchemy shop too expensive.

The proprietor of this shop was a squat friendly and somewhat cheerful old man with a long white beard wearing plain brown robes fastened at the waist with a black cord. Gornix instantly recognized the proprietor as the old man who had referred him to this place just outside of the guild shop. Gornix was there to purchase some alchemist kits but the old man tried to recruit him for the Obsidian Guild. That mages’ guild was trying to get a foothold in Ezmer where the Star-Sapphire Confraternity dominated. Gornix tossed his gold devils and gold pieces onto the counter and turned to leave for his apartment.

However, he told the old man, named Wensaer, that he would consider his proposal to join the Obsidian Brotherhood. It wasn’t long before Fauna also stumbled into the very same shop also to purchase some alchemist kits.

Meanwhile, Excor had sequestered himself in his rooms and was busy crafting the copper spike. He was creating a Rod of Lightning Bolts, though with a Creator Level of 1. Gornix had intended to start formulating a new spell. Nevertheless, he would have to take a break in the middle of his research and experimentation. This was due to the cabal meeting being on the very next day.

The next day the cabal of seven, soon to be eight, convened in the clubroom at the east corner of the second floor of the Red Helm Tavern. Szoosha was present to put his mark on the group charter. Athfonia however, was conspicuously absent though when Belrae brought up her name our three (soon to be four or maybe five) heroes mentioned they had met her. Just before the meeting was to begin in earnest, Fauna thrust the Amber Bee into Bumble’s hand.

Fauna: “HERE! Take it! That thing’s trouble you should be careful and give back to your master.”

Jenn (to me, the GM): “We’re going to make sure after the meeting that she takes the bee to the Wasp. I want her to be safe.”

Fauna (to Bumble): “You know some pickpocket tried to snatch it from me on the way here? I put him to sleep though.”

Cris (Excor’s Player): “You had SLEEP this entire TIME!”

Jenn (Fauna’s Player): “Well. Yeah. Why?”

Cris: “The sleep spell!? This … You could’ve, the guy. We could’ve captured him! He wouldn’t have got away!”

Jenn: “I just forgot I had that spell.”

Cris just sighed in exasperation and throwing up his arms said, “Whatever.” Then he mumbled a little bit more under his breath.

To Be Continued…

The Cabal of Eight Pt.6: Gold Devil

It was still in the wee hours of the morning and dark outside of the Red Helm Tavern. The trio had

rat tails tied with a gold ribbon against a gray escutcheon
High Pesters’ Guild Heraldry straight from the GM’s Notebook.

already been introduced to a tall Ferenoi (Feren Amazon) named Athfonia (Played by Perla) by Draega. Apparently a new arrival to the cabal that their leader, Belrae had failed to mention.

Eager to talk business and naturally distrustful of the “new member” Excor urged her exemption (unnecessarily). This, as Draega guided them to the cellar. Immediately after the gold exchanged hands Excor was off to his apartment in the South Market District. His two companions and the newbie stayed at the invitation of publican Draega.

It wasn’t long before the drowsy bar-back allowed another into the quiet confines of the deserted tavern. It was the man famed as “Golden Devil”, a Lord of the Golden Devil Company. He was wearing a suit of leather armor under a gold carapace alive with flames and flying grimacing demon heads. At his hip on his wide gold studded black belt hung a coiled gold bull-whip. On his head was gold skull-cap with a top-spike and a brim of black fur. He wore a gold mask, an emerald eyed demon-face baring an expression of pure rage. A frozen rage that seemed to seep into his very frame and the carriage of his bulk.

With every heavy step the floorboards creaked under the devil’s weight. Immediately and without a word Draega led the supreme slave-master of Ezmer to the basement. Presumably to exchange the dagger of Dag-Athar for his reward. The three young mages rubbernecked with widened eyes as the devil walked by. As soon as the cellar door shut and the latch thrown, Gornix immediately ran up to it. He put his ear to the wood.

He could hear nothing and as he ran clumsily by, the bartender just shook his head. It wasn’t long before Gornix rejoined the other two. He could hear nothing. Fauna and Gornix entered into conversation with their (apparently) new companion.

Athfonia was a shaman from a semi-civilized part of the continent known as Fuglotia, a barbaric peninsula in the far north partially conquered and re-conquered by the Feren Queendoms. The amazon was dressed in furs with a grey fur-fringed cloak which billowed from her 6 foot 7 inch wide-shouldered frame whenever she turned to snatch and guzzle her drink from the bar. Under that she wore a grayish toga of thick wool trimmed in black and gold. On her feet a pair of wolf-skin boots secured with leather wraps. She had set her broad-tipped short spear to lean against the bar.

Later that day, by late afternoon, Excor was perusing the stalls in the massive bazaar until he found what he was looking for, a copper spike. After making his purchase the young mage headed to his main contact’s apothecary shop. The shop was located in a small box of a building at the crossing of two circumspect roads in the Old Market District with a direct view across a plaza of the Bazaar.

Babia (Sská in Split-Tongue) the shop-keeper was a slight woman in her later years. She wore a heavy white robe secured at the waist with a thick blue-felt band. She also wore a loose turban that also draped around her face in an effort to conceal the greenish scaling around her ears, on her cheeks, and along her jawline which in her later years has become increasingly prominent as well as her lack of ears. Of course, it only took a glance at her slit-pupil yellow eyes to reveal her half-Naga nature.

The atmosphere was pungent with the mixed scents of a plethora of exotic and fragrant herbs. Herbs which hung drying from the rafters of the shop like an upside down thicket in late spring. The potent umbrage almost completely obscured shelves upon shelves of jars and several multi-drawer apothecary chests. Excor was looking for some Yellow Lotus.

He was informed that someone came along and bought all of it up yesterday. So the young mage settled for 2 silver-pieces worth of shop-mix smoking herbs. Afterwards he left to meet up with Gornix at the Red Helm.

Gornix meanwhile was tracking down his contact, a ratter named Doubab in the un-policed Eastern District. The ratter who by chance was just walking back to the High Pesters’ Guild guild-house with a stave hung with at least a dozen dead rats. The experienced ratter had no news of any kind other than a bit of advice to not trust any “filthy” ratlings. However, when prodded a little more he did mention that there was a bounty of 1,500 gold pieces for a mage and assassin named Ssthris. The Bronzeheads were probably sheltering him but he wanted no part in that.

The Bronzeheads were the lords of street crime in Ezmer essentially the Ezmerian mob. A tattoo of a red rat was their mark. They have carte blanch within the ruined wall and tower in the Eastern District. Within the wall was a city within the city. Gornix high-tailed it to the Red Helm armed with new information.

Fauna at the same time was walking back to the Red Helm form the Bazaar where she ordered some “stylish” green robes from one Andras, tailor extraordinaire. She passed a bill-plastered wall and stopped to read a wanted poster that caught her attention due to its still-fresh glue. It listed one Ssthris, a half-naga sorcerer wanted for a series of assassinations in the Old Market District and one in the Bazaar. The reward was 1,500 gp. Suddenly, she felt a hand under robes.

She snatched the street urchin’s dirt encrusted little claw and saw that he had hold of Bumble’s “paperweight”, the fist-sized piece of amber with a golden bee at its center. She snatched the amber piece back and the kid ran for his life disappearing into the street traffic. The young druidess tried to follow only to find a bundle of rat-tails bound with a yellow ribbon that urchin had dropped.

That evening at the Helm, Excor and Gornix were already upstairs sequestered in the cabal room exchanging spells with each other. Fauna hit the front door at the same time as Draega was making his entrance to the establishment. He immediately comped her a jack of ale and began dishing about another new member to their “little club upstairs”.

Draega Skullshine: “Rumor has it he’s a black-scale Naga!”

It wasn’t long before the titular ninth member made his appearance slithering through the door and up to the bar to inquire upon the whereabouts of one Belrae Crokosa. Draega immediately glided up to the black-scaled Naga and introduced himself and Fauna. Szoosha was his name. He was apparently gifted when it came to fire.

Szoo (Played by Isis, Jenn’s sister): “I like to burn things.”

Szoosha had the ability to conjure a naginata of pure flame in his hands, the ability that marked him as a black-scale in the first place as well as being a Fire Elementalist. However, Szoosha was visibly uncomfortable with complete strangers suddenly knowing his name. Not long after Gornix and Excor wandered down and decided to buy food.

The group of four mages took up a table near the window across from the taproom. A bowl of boiled onions, a wood platter of bittles (honey drenched balls of ale-soaked bread), and for Gornix turtle soup in the shell. By the by, Fauna was busy scanning the crowded taproom and through the haze of pipe-smoke she saw a suspicious looking character at the end of the long table nearest the window.

She had caught him eyeballing the group and saw by chance (Natural 20) that he had a tattoo of a red rat on the side of his left hand. So, putting together what Gornix had told her of the Bronzeheads and their possibly sheltering the wanted sorcerer she decided to approach him and “charm him”.

She walked up to him and at the mention of Ssthris he shot to his feet and pulled his dagger. Excor and Gornix jumped to their feet but Szoosha was busy stuffing his face with handfuls of sticky bittles.

To Be Continued…

The Cabal of Eight Pt.5: Thug Life

It was nearly two hours before the trio of mages was able to make it to the necropolis gates. All the way Where the thug led them.the air seemed to become increasingly still and just before the gates the wind itself seemed to fear making any sound at all. They stopped just outside of the gates at the ragged edge of an old irrigation ditch just before the old road.

Accordingly, they surveyed the pitch dark for the evident light of a campfire but all was black. Suddenly, a shape rose from the shadow gesticulating wildly. All three of the young mages recognized the senior thug. He was signaling them as silently as he could to DUCK!

As a result and almost as a reflex, their heads turned in unison past the overturned wagon and the body of one of the thugs to where the Wher dragon was butchering the dead horses with its teeth and claws. Immediately the mages jumped into the ditch and pressed themselves hard against its slanted overgrown sides.

After an hour, every thug and mage present had kept a keen eye locked onto the dragon as they waited the situation out, the Wher flew off back into the necropolis bearing the better part of a horse carcass. Consequently, Excor decided to stay where he was for the rest of the night and sleep in the ditch.

Gornix dashed over to the thugs who were held up by the overturned wagon. The older thug was somewhat upset. Apparently he owned the wagon and was a bit angry that it had been broken up and both draft-horses eaten by the dragon. Fauna simply stayed in the pit with Excor following his example as well as being more comfortable in the thick tangled grasses.

Finally, morning came, the great purple moon and its rings darkened a large portion of the blazing orange dawn. The young mages and the thugs quickly wolfed down their iron rations and used what of the grog they could salvage to wet down the hard tack. After breakfast they assessed the damage to the wagon, it was determined a total loss. As a result, the old thug went on a tirade about “that double-dealin’ dishonest soft-skinned shiesty fop! Easy money my @$$! It weren’t enough! Not by a long toss! Owe’s me a pair o’ good horse an a WAGON!”

The angry old man roughly wiped the spit from his beard and flung his arm clean. He walked over to the other two thugs.

Jenn (Fauna’s Player): “So. What do we do now?”

Cris (Excor’s Player): “We walk.”

Gil (Gornix’s Player): “What!? Anybody have a flight spell or something!? Nothing? My CON’s not good.”

Cris: “You got anything?”

Gil: “No?”

Excor marched off by himself and looking back at his companions shouted, “C’mon! Let’s Go!”

The three thugs grumbled, “Who the hell does that guy think he is?” between themselves. After a few seconds, they shrugged their shoulders and followed. Fauna and Gornix searched the broken wagon for rations for some unknown reason. However, they found nothing. Therefore, the pair had to run to catch up to their party.

Come noon the sun was high and blazing like molten platinum down onto the backs of the young mages and the surviving thugs. Accordingly, all were drenched in sweat and partially stripped of excess clothing. Road dirt smeared their faces and collected in dark patches to their sweat-soaked clothes. Fauna and Gornix were exhausted. A young thug, the youngest of the remaining three, dropped passing out from heat exhaustion face first into the pale rocky jaundiced dust of the road.

Barely even winded the elder thug and his pal continued on at a brisk pace ignoring their fallen compatriot as well as the mages they had hardly tolerated. Excor decided to wait after some thought and squirt some water from his waterskin onto his dirty sunburnt face. While the crunching trudge of the deserters faded into the heat-shimmering distance.

Regardless Gornix struggled over to the unconscious thug and splashed his face with some water. The young ruffian twitched showing that he was alive but he did not wake up. The remaining group decided to rest where they were. Fauna set up her pup-tent and slept. Gornix tried to help the sun-struck thug but was too weak and so stripped down rest under the arid shadow of a nearby rock.

Cris (to me, the GM): “Hey! Am I carrying that dagger? I sure I am I got it wrote down!”

Gornix as he waited for his companions to recover enough to continue to foot it to the city walls identified the dagger they had taken from the sarcophagus of Dag-Athar. All he could get from the obviously magic item was its mystical connection to a demon. Some runes blazed into view like fire along the curved golden blade.

Cris: “That’s it. I stop touching the thing and wrap it in a rag and stash it away!”

Cris (to Gil): “Hey man you want to carry the dagger!”

Gil: “No. No. I’m passed out right now.”

The day progressed and by late afternoon (approx. 3 pm) Gornix was fully recovered however Fauna and the thug were still out of commission. Gornix summoned a pair of earth elementals (again barely hitting the control roll DC) and had them carry the druid and thug. After an hour when the creatures melted back into the yellow road Fauna had recovered but the thug was still out.

They paused long enough for Gornix to render first aid and when the thug finally was able to stand, barely, the mage lent him his staff to walk with. They soldiered on towards Ezmer. It was not for several more hours (till about 9 pm) that they reached their goal, the city gates of Ezmer. The gates were shut tight.

This was because the gates shut every day at sundown only to open again at the first light of dawn. So, to one side of the gates was a wayfarer camp and to the other a gypsy camp filled with music and Southern Nomads dancing wildly around their roaring bonfires.

Fauna decided to “check out” the gypsy camp. As soon as a pair of nomads approached her showing signs of the mixed blood of humans, faun, and Naga she freaked and left to rejoin Excor who leaning against the city-gate.

Gornix, on the other hand, was trying to follow the thug that had his staff and lost him somewhere in the wayfarers’ camp. For this reason, Gornix rejoined his companions at the gate where they had set up to sleep in a corner against the great wood and iron gates. He cast clairvoyance focusing on his staff and on the strength of his vision, he urged his companions to the western aqueducts.

Finally, they stumbled to one of the gargantuan aqueducts that fed the city water from rivers miles away to the south. They observed the white stone arches as they stretched over the wide and deep stone-lined dry moat. Constructed behind the moat were the battle towers and city bulwarks. The three mages heard a slight chirping from above.

Gornix caught his staff, tossed to him by the thug he had doctored. The young man was above them on a ledge of the aqueduct. He signaled them up. The only words he spoke were in a raspy whisper, “Shh. Keep quiet and follow my lead.”

Therefore, they carefully edged their way across the aqueducting along the narrow bird-dropping encrusted edge. Occasionally they suffered the nip of a beak on a finger misplaced in a pecked out burrow. About midway across the span and only halfway from their goal the leading thug signaled them to stop and lean in against the stone. At this point if any of their grips failed the height of the fall and the impact on the stone lining of the moat would’ve killed any one of the four sneaks.

The young thug sent a twittering bird-call across the moat to the other side. Consequently from the top of one of the battle towers they could all see the yellow-white flash of a signal lantern. The young thug looked back and signaled them to follow. Finally, they continued to the other side where a watchman armed with a crossbow helped them down into the battlements of the bulwarks and from there the thug led them into the streets after sharing a special handshake with the man. Only Fauna noticed this but was unable to memorize the handshake.

Soon after, they were somewhere in the Southwest District of Ezmer navigating a narrow alley among the small crowded multi-story buildings. At this point, the young thug turned to Gornix as he started to duck into a dark and narrow side-alley. “You’re a good man. I would’ve left you.” Gornix began to try to say something back.

The GM (Me): “Dude he’s already gone.”

After getting their bearings, the group headed out to the Red Helm hoping that Draiga had their pay in hand.

To Be Continued…

The Cabal of Eight Pt.4: The Tomb of Dag-Athar

The trio of young mages (Excor the Ivoran schemer played by Cris, Fauna the Southlander druid playedThe map of the titular tomb by Jenn, and Gornix the Ivoran Wizard played by Gil) slowly progressed down the dank ancient passage their lights pushing back against the smothering darkness of the tomb. Gornix led the group tapping each flagstone in turn before he stepped upon it with Fauna just a step behind him. Excor was 10 ft. behind her however.

Fauna (Played by Jenn): “Hey you! Get up here!”

Excor: “Hell no!”

Cris (Excor’s Player): “Hey ya never know! Am I wrong? Am I wrong?”

Gornix paused due to an unexpected floor feature. He carefully inspected it. Laid before him was a large flagstone with the graven image of the grinning horned demon. After contemplating how to proceed and after some needling by Fauna he decided to just jamb it with the butt of his staff. All three of them froze in place as the strained squealing of some hidden machine echoed from behind the walls presumably triggered by Gornix’s hasty action.

A stone slab slid and crashed down suddenly just in front of Excor sealing him off from his two companions. Gornix and Fauna inspected the other side of the stone drop-door.

Fauna: “Awww. It’s too heavy for us to lift huh?”

Gornix: “Do. You.  Have your crowbar?”

They searched for a reset or switch or anything to retract the door. They even checked for magic but nothing. The door was too heavy to lift, left no purchase for a crowbar, and was airtight. About the time Fauna and Gornix were shrugging in frustration, the grinning demon’s visage mocking them from the door’s face, Excor Ghost Step-ped through to join them.

Gornix: “There’s gotta be a way to get through that door around here.”

Excor: “No. It was probably meant to trap whoever comes down here. AND it’s airtight huh? Damn. We might die down here even if we get the dagger.”

They continued in a single group this time just behind each other proceeding just as slowly, if not slower, than they had been before. As the end of the tunnel was starting to become visible by their lights, they noticed the flags abruptly ended with the floor continuing as moist bare black earth.

Gornix: “I’m not touching that.”

They conferred for a few minutes ultimately deciding to use various spells to “ghost over” the patch of bare ground deeming it to be an obvious trap (it was, just your average 20 ft. deep concealed spiked pit). Excor cast Ghost Form and floated over. Fauna cast Gaseous Form over both her and Gornix. Their mist-forms drifted to the terminus of the tomb throat.

They all found themselves in a chamber identical to the entrance vestibule save that there were three narrow openings into passages that snaked so that they couldn’t look too far into them from the thresholds. A pair of thick stone supports and a stone lintel formed each of the three openings. Carved into one of the supports to the center opening was spiral design.

Excor (as he’s staring at the inscribed spiral): “I bet this one is where have to go. Hmmm. Not sure though.”

Fauna and Gornix solidified reverting to their normal mortal forms. Immediately, Fauna used her divination skill to determine that their goal was indeed through the center opening. As Excor’s Ghost Form spell was still active, he elected himself the first to proceed down the central snaking passage. At the end of the narrow passage was a small rounded chamber with a stone sarcophagus at its center.

Gornix’s spell expired then setting him down near the stone coffin. Suddenly a large golden scaled serpent struck him with its venomous dagger-like fangs. The creature appeared as an unnatural cross between a viper and a constrictor. Dropping his torch he reeled back away from the monster its venom searing along his veins to the other side of the sarcophagus. The torch continued to burn casting long shadows along the chamber walls and leaving the entire portion behind the sarcophagus black. This creature was doubtlessly the tomb’s guardian.

Cris (to me, the GM): “Damn! I’m almost dead. I do a recovery. I need to or I’m dead!”

To save his own skin Excor cast Blinding Flash but to no effect. Dropping her lamp behind the threshold, Fauna charged in and cast Arcane Bolt at the creature but the spell seemed to have no effect. Immediately behind her, Gornix jumped into the small chamber and cast Chrono-Missile but the creature dodged the missiles easily. Gornix again cast Chrono-Missile and again the guardian serpent dodged. So, the young wizard tried to summon some earth elementals (of all the spells to pick for his starting spells he picked Summon Elemental IV, hope he knows what he’s doin’ with that) but failed.

Three medium-sized earth elementals in humanoid form rose from the ground and walls, their bodies of clay and stone. Gornix had successfully cast his spell and lucked out with the control roll to keep the creatures under his spell. The elementals immediately fell upon the golden serpent but it dodged all three of their attacks. Fauna tried to cast Lightning Bolt but the spell failed.

Excor as well cast Lightning Bolt the electrical bolts erupting from his hands as the magic went wild but dealing some damage to the creature as it struck its target. Gornix also cast Lightning Bolt, twice, in quick succession each bolt finding the serpent but dealing very little damage.

The guardian serpent struck at one of the elementals retracting with nothing but a mouthful of dirt. Gornix readied as his elementals attacked. Two missed with clumsy but powerful swings of their rocky fists. The third trapped the monster within its stony grasp and held the squirming beast against the flagstones. Gornix saw his opportunity for a coup de grace striking its head sending the butt of his staff crunching through its skull and into its brain killing it instantly. The tomb-snake’s corpse melted away to nothing as a result.

Without missing a beat, the trio turned their attention towards the sarcophagus and hoped that it contained their quarry. All three left the room and stood behind the threshold. From behind the burial chambers threshold, Gornix commanded his elementals to throw off the lid of the stone sarcophagus. A sparkling cloud of poison dust burst into the air hovering in a dense cloud about the radius of the room. They waited for around 10 minutes while the cloud dissipated.

After the remaining dust settled, our trio carefully moved one after the other into the burial chamber of Dag-Athar. They peered over the chest high sides of the sarcophagus and within they saw a shriveled skeletal corpse with only shreds of pale blue material left clinging to its bones and grey bits of petrified flesh. Moreover, across its sternum under the mummy’s crossed arms rested a gleaming gold dagger.

The dagger was of mirror-polished solid gold with a curved and wickedly sharp blade. In its pommel was set a smooth polished emerald that sparkled venomously even in the scant light of the tomb. The three mages debated on whether or not they should just grab for the blade and hope for the best. They also argued about who would be the one to make the grab.

When the corpse sprung unexpectedly to a sitting posture, the group leapt back from the coffin and prepared for battle. The corpse began saying something in a voice that at first sounded faint and hollow as if echoing from an immeasurable distance. Slowly the eerie voice moved into the burial chamber with them. It was full and deep carrying with it unbendable authority. However, the voice was speaking in a language alien to any of them.

The GM (me)(to Jenn): “Um, don’t you have the Druid Secret Tongue as a language?”

Jenn (referring to her character sheet): “Nope.”

The GM: “Crap. That’s right you’re a rogue druid.”

Gil (sonsulting his character sheet): “Wait. I think. I have something.”

Gornix cast Comprehend Languages and began to translate for the benefit of the other two.

Dag-Athar (the corpse): “…a boon I grant to you tomb robbers though your fate will be that of any common thief to lie with me forever in this tomb. For now, you have 3 questions to ask of Dag-Athar the Golden.”

Gornix: “Where’s the dagger?”

The mummy of Dag-Athar the Golden presented the dagger to Gornix so he snatched it from the corpse’s claws.

Fauna: “Is the dagger magic?”

Dag-Athar: “Yes.”

Gornix (before Excor could say anything): “How do we defeat you?”

Dag-Athar: “By asking the last question.” With that the corpse fell back and completely disintegrated.

Jenn (turning to look at me): “We could have asked it anything huh? DERP!”

Cris just shook his head and gave a disgusted sigh.

Excor searched the remaining dust in the bottom of the coffin and came up with a wood bracelet with a small carved non-precious stone. He tossed it back into the dust of Dag-Athar. There was nothing of apparent value in the detritus. He was still terribly wounded from the snakebite.

The trio was trying to figure out how they were going to escape the sealed tomb. They decided on using Gornix’s elementals to search the remaining two branches of the tomb. The group remained 10 ft. behind the earth-creatures as they led the way into the West chamber. As soon as all three of the elementals were inside of the threshold, a stone door fell sealing them in.

Gil: “Aw man. I lose control of them?”

Cris: “Yeah man, they probably f*@#n’ melt into the floor and walls.”

GM: “Yup.”

After a little bit of in-game arguing Fauna charmed Gornix into leading the group into the last remaining burial chamber. They all pause as halfway to the room through the narrow bend of the passage a boulder that composed most of the ceiling and part of a wall moved and dirt fell (trap mechanical failure). Nevertheless, as it did not fall he continued on stopping at the threshold and visually inspected the chamber. He determined the whole thing was a trap. Possibly, the low ceiling which appeared to be a single massive stone would fall in if they were to make it to the sarcophagus at room center.

They backed out and sat in the antechamber. With the entire tomb explored, they were trying to come up with something, anything to get themselves out of this. They finally decided upon simply getting back to the drop-door near the entrance and “ghosting through” again though Excor was the only one that could actually do that. The air was already heavy. There was no proper ventilation to the tomb. They would soon suffocate. There wasn’t time for Gornix to learn Excor’s spell. Fauna channeled her powers from nature and so couldn’t learn any other spells aside from those she already knew.

When they reached the stone door that prevented their escape, Excor cast Ghost Step on himself and stepped through. In a sudden burst of inspiration, Gornix cast Mini-Portal and almost at the same time, Fauna cast Gaseous Form on herself and Gornix. Using the short-lived mini-portal they drifted through to the other side. They were reward immediately with a fresh gust of cool, breathable air.

Cautiously they wended their way up the stone steps to the surface and into the moonlit night. The cool air lightly tinged by ocean salt was such a great relief that they each spent a few seconds just taking deep breaths. However, they noticed something that left them somewhat uneasy. The graveyard was dead quiet. There were neither sounds of night birds nor the chirping of crickets or the tympani of cicada.

They stood crowded on the last few step with their heads sticking up from the subterranean tomb searching in vain for the whereabouts of the Wher. When they were confident that the dragon was nowhere in sight, they were definitely suspicious though, they made a break for it.

To Be Continued…

The Cabal of Eight – Pt.3: Navigating the Necropolis

A light cool, breeze drifted over the irregular crowns of the tombstones, monoliths, and various stone Similar to the one on the tomb at the Necropolis.memorials. The air was strangely fresh having blown from over the ocean, up the Ezmerian cliffs, and onto the foot of the headland. The horizon was dull red with a brilliant yellow white slash in the west.

Excor (Played by Cris): “Man. We don’t wanna be in no graveyard past sundown! Sheesh.”

Excor, Gornix (Played by Gil), and Fauna (Played by Jenn) were making their way across the impressive Ezmerian Necropolis proceeding in a north-easterly direction in search of their quarry: a tomb marked with a golden, grinning demon. They kept their bearing easily using a combination of Clairvoyance (courtesy of Gornix and Excor) and Fauna’s divination skill.

It had taken them almost 2 hours to get to where they were at and they knew they were real close. The strange place posed little hindrance to them in daylight though Fauna had almost stepped on a viper unknowingly. Fortunately Gornix had spotted the creature and warned her in time. He had taken the lead and led the group at a breakneck impatient and nervous pace. Suddenly, they found that they were lost.

Eeriness assailed the minds of the young mages brought to a ringing clamor in their brains now that they had stopped to catch their bearings. The groupings of the graves, the locations of the tumuli, the narrow paths, and wide avenues all bred a vague familiarity within the trio. It was only that they had a brief moment apart from their all-consuming goal that the realization hit them like an icy wave. The layout of the ages old Ezmerian Necropolis was identical to the current layout of the fair bustling metropolis of Ezmer.

Fauna took charge and pulled out a dowsing rod, and easily led them straight to the titular tomb, which was literally just around the bend of a large barrow. The tall age-worn monolithic stone stood among a small tight group of similar albeit shorter stones and was nestled in a sort of alleyway created by the surrounding above-ground sarcophagi and small mausoleums. All covered with heavy tufts of yellow grasses and weeds as well as a thick layer and clumps of stony earth. On the face of the tall stone was a deep carving of a grinning demon with a crown floating above it head inlaid with gold.

The group duly noted that the carven image in the stone resembled, greatly and probably not by coincidence (tee-hee), the banner of the Golden Devil West Company. The Hyvalian trading company, which specialized in slavery and spices, oversaw the Slavers’ Castle in the Slavers’ Quarter of Ezmer.

Excor cast Danger Sense and kept his concentration acting as the group sensor. The great purple moon was quickly fading into a faint shadow as the first stars of the evening began to shine. Fauna inspected the tomb.

At the base of the monolith was a pale coffin-shaped slab of slanted stone. She could see several fresh pry marks all around the presumed edge of the lid but the seal appeared to be intact. Fauna tested the capstone but it seemed immovable. She tapped at the weatherworn stone and contemplated trying to smash her way in but quickly abandoned that idea. They hadn’t the means. All the while the image of the grinning demon seemed to mock her.

Gornix searched around the perimeter of the tomb and found that the lid was a false one. It only appeared that there was a lid; it was a single piece of cleverly carved stone. There was no prying it open.

Gil (Gornix’s Player): “Why didn’t they take hammers to this?”

Cris: “They would assume it was magic if they thought the lid was real. Besides we don’t know what kind of protections this thing has on it.”

None of the mages was able to sense any magic over the tomb but they were picking up some ambient magic about the place.

Stumbling to the east side of the tomb Gornix located a large weed choked sinkhole. He climbed down and found a secret door down into the tomb half covered by the earthen wall of the pit. Recklessly he opened it and peering within found spiral stone steps winding down into the black earth.

Cris (to Gil): “Man! Watch it! You’re gonna get us KILLED!”

A loud groan emitted from a large dugout opening in the tumulus a mere 20 ft. across from them. Fauna immediately cast Invisible to Sight on herself blinking from view. Gornix fell to clearing the remaining debris in the way of the passage into the tomb. The sun fell into the sea and as the last rays of daylight extinguished Excor’s Danger Sense triggered.

The groan turned into a low rumbling growl. The young mages turned to see a pair of jewel-like eyes glaring with a multitude of angry colors as the creature emerged from its lair. It had bronze scales and gnarled claws on its four feet. Excor using his dragon-lore skill was able to discern it as a dragon, specifically a Wher.

Cris (Excor’s Player): “A DRAGON! Man, we’re only first LEVEL! You tryin’ to KILL US! How’re we supposed to fight this THING!?”

The GM (me):  “Who said ya had to fight it?”

Cris: “Yeah, well! Pfft! Whatever. We’re all gonna die.”

The Wher fully emerged from the burrow in which it was squatting and readied to pounce on any one of the three mages. Fauna’s invisibility didn’t seem to hide her from the dragon’s keen senses. Gornix ducked into the tomb entrance and made his way down the first few steps.

Gil (Gornix’s Player): “I stop after the first few to let the others in. Just in case! The steps are trapped. And I wait for those two.”

Excor cast Lightning Bolt at the dragon but dispirited as the bolt of white hot electricity harmlessly skipped off of its glistening hide. The foolish young mage stepped back towards the sinkhole stopping right next to an unseen Fauna. Thinking quickly Fauna snatched hold of Excor’s collar and leapt down into the ditch.

Just as the thing came bounding towards the pit, the druidess and the mage rushed into the stairway. Fortunately, the opening was too narrow for the beast to follow. It stayed for a few seconds testing the stone and earth with its claws. They could here its mighty lungs sniffing the air as it vainly plunged its maw at the opening.

Fauna (Played by Jenn)(to Gornix): “Okay lead the way.”

Gornix stepped carefully down onto each step and in turn tapped the next with the butt of his staff. After several agonizing minutes, they were deep underground having reached the bottom of the spiral steps. Fauna faded back into view her spell expired. The tomb air was stale, musty, and surprisingly dry. Gornix illuminated the crystal at the top of his staff.

Excor pulled out some steel and flint and lit one of his torches. Fauna extracted an oil lamp from her pack and lit it. Before them lay a long stone tunnel its other end shrouded in darkness. The tunnels walls were of chopped stone with monolithic supports. Large flat flagstones made its floor and its ceiling was of large flat stone sat against each other forming an angle creating a peaked ceiling. They were in some sort of vestibule or antechamber with a domed ceiling formed of stacked stone, the only other way to go besides back up into the maw of a hungry dragon was down the throat of the tomb of Dag-Athar.

Excor: “Well I’m not going first! I’m stayin’ back here at the rear. Go on, you go ahead.”

Gornix took the lead and slowly moved forward over the dusty flagstones tapping at them a little bit before stepping gingerly onto them. Fauna followed closely behind.

Cris (to me): “Oh yeah. I stay about 10 ft. behind her. Just in case.”

To Be Continued…

The Cabal of Eight Pt.2: Wagon Ho!

The monotonous grinding of the wagon wheels going round and round against the yellow dirt had aEzmer City Seal from which the wagon traveled. hypnotic effect on all those riding in the back of the high-sided wagon. Gornix the Ivoran wizard sat silent his body wobbling occasionally with the movement of the wagon over the terrain. Excor, the Ivoran mage in Westlander clothing, lit his pipe and after taking a deep tug at it, tried to start up a conversation with one of the rough looking men they had met outside of the Red Helm at dawn that morning.

The young mages were accompanied and being driven by four toughs presumably hired by Draiga Skullshine. They were all Ezmerian but undoubtedly thugs drawn from the city’s underbelly. They were hulking brutes with deeply scratched and heavily lined features. All were in some sort of dirty and haphazard sort of studded leather armor.

The leader of the four thugs was the eldest, with wintry white hair and beard and a crevasse of a scar diagonal across his face that etched a notch into his punch-flattened nose. He sat next to the second in command the next eldest with peppered black hair and a bristly dagger-hacked beard. They were driving. The young mages and the last two younger thugs were all sitting uncomfortably in the bed of the wagon.

Excor (Played by Cris)(at the thug directly across from him): “So. This necropolis we’re heading to … ya got any info on it … er.”

In response, the ill-tempered bigger man spat a gob of snot at Excor’s feet then looked away towards the sky. The hired ruffians had been hostile to the 3 mages since the start of the trip; they hadn’t even given their names to the trio. Of course, the trip was miserable. All were soaked in greasy sweat. They had left the relief of the fresh gusts of the salty sea breeze far behind as they traveled south away from the cliffs and sea on the western trade road out of Ezmer.

Fauna the rogue-druid was gazing blankly out the back of the wagon at the road behind and the choking cloud of yellow dust thrown up by the wheels. She drifted back to the night before.

After Draiga had met with the trio in the basement of the Red Helm and essentially hired them to retrieve a certain item for him, Fauna took her bindle and left for her regular campsite, the central grove.

The Grove is a large open park consisting of a remnant and very ancient druidic grove with a central great oak. At its head in the north is an open well-manicured field with a central menhir circle. To the west of this circle of standing stones is a permanent executioner’s scaffolding. At the south end of the Grove are the remains of an ancient amphitheater sunk deep into the earth. All this situated as the city center. A dense cluster of shops, taverns, and residences surround this marking the circular border of the Old Market District. The Grove has its resident tender hired to maintain it via the City Council.

Fauna was familiar with the resident tender, he was also a rogue druid and in the habit of calling her “little sister”. His name was Anishi. He was tall, in his mid-thirties, and dark of skin, probably with some Creschan blood, with black hair burned short.

Fauna had just reached an isolated spot in the Grove and just settled down in the grass. She was letting the sounds of the crickets and wind rustled leaves take her into dream when suddenly she heard a noise. It was a small group stealthily creeping towards her position.

Jenn (Fauna’s Player): “I ready my staff! Nobody’s going to touch my stuff.”

Just then, she saw Anishi emerge from the bushes. He was wearing a bright blue robe with a yellow silk noose around his neck. Being especially eagle-eyed for the moment (she Natural 20’d the Spot check) Fauna noticed a line of similarly attired individuals save that they had full hoods over their faces with only the perforations of eyeholes to be seen in lieu of faces.

Fauna (pointing at the other figures): “Who’re they?”

With that Anishi stumbled back quickly to the others and it appeared to Fauna that a brief but excited conversation ensued. He stumbled back and asked Fauna a series of strange questions. She answered each in turn. He smiled and cordially invited to join their druids’ group. She would come again to the Grove, to the amphitheater, on the next full of the White Moon.

Fauna: “Um. What if I don’t. Agree.”

Anishi: “Oh then we’ll have to kill you. Track you down no matter where you are in the city or beyond its walls. And kill you.”

She agreed to their terms and the mysterious group shuffled on towards the old amphitheater.

Of course, she followed, stealthily enough to remain inconspicuous, all the way to the old amphitheater and down the parodos into the orchestra. She saw the lead figure walk to the lichen-spotted stone altar at the center of the orchestra ground. The figure chanted some arcane words and gestured over the elderly stone. Miraculously the altar moved to one side revealing a secret stair down into the earth under the old amphitheater. It was down this that all of the members of this strange group, Anishi included, disappeared.

Fauna had briefly contemplated chasing after them but the altar-stone immediately slid back into place as soon as the last blue-hooded head dipped below ground level. She spent a few minutes inspecting the stone and found some very faint inscriptions around it though weatherworn to near invisibility.

Several hours later at dawn, she found herself in the back of an old rickety wagon driven by the city’s worst crossing through the metropolitan bulwarks headed south. The wagon trundled through the titanic stone gatehouse that served as the city-gates onto the exceedingly long drawbridge that spanned the moat.

Land-side a network of stone-faced adobe and packed-earth bulwarks armed with state-of-art repeating torsion ballistae defend the city. In front of the stone-faced defense wall and at the foot of its crenelated palisades is a spiked trench that runs the length of the defenses. In front of that, is a packed earth berm and in front of that a deep and wide stone-lined dry moat open to the sea cliffs in the west and connected to the drain-works of the Tanners & Dyers Complex in the east to prevent flooding.

A sudden bump in the road shocked her back to the present in the sun beaten wagon and flying yellow road dust. The wagon had left the trade road behind and was now passing under the towering arch of one of the several aqueducts that fed the city. It was already mid-day and in view of this Excor was getting restless. The wagon continued west towards the river Wira. It wasn’t long before the wagon had turned completely around north to follow the river back towards the sea.

Cris (Excor’s Player): “C’mon! How far away is this Necropolis? They still use it right!? C’mon! It’s gotta be closer than this! It can’t be more than half a day from the @#$%*^& city! C’mon! People need to get back before dark after a funeral!”

The wagon began to slow to a stop and all could again smell the cool sea breeze flavoring the hot, dry overland air. Without warning, a massive shadow passed over them sending Excor into a panic. He had spotted the full-grown Brown-Fang dragon just before its shadow fell over the wagon.

The Elder Thug: “Oh. That. Don’t worry your pretty little heads. That’s just Gristle-Talon.”

Excor: “What! Who?”

The Elder Thug (champing down on his pipe): “Gristle-Talon, he guards the Slavers’ Quarter, the castle back in the city. He’s a mercenary. Paid really well from what I hear.”

The dragon’s mirror polished breast-plate blasted the on-lookers with reflected sunlight. As the flew the glare dimmed so that they could see the city emblem, an acorn and oak leaves, emblazoned on the chest as it passed swiftly over. The mages watched in awe as the dragon disappeared into the endless blue distance.

The thugs began unpacking some supplies. They were passing out wooden bowls, pouring a ration of ale, and a wad of bread-mash to each member of the expedition. Thus the thugs began to soften the mash into an oatmeal-like consistency with the ale and slurping it down. So, the three mages followed suit.

After taking a brief break for lunch the wagon continued a little farther finally reaching their destination sometime after mid-day. The mages and the thugs disembarked. The trio could see a massive tombstone crowded cemetery across the well-rutted wheel-ground dirt road.

The Elder Thug (pointing to the north-east of the massive cemetery): “Over there. The far side, err, second rung.”

Excor: “Where? Do ya know …”

The Elder Thug: “That’s all I was supposed to tell ya.”

The other three toughs were setting up a makeshift camp by the wagon. The elder thug turned and walked away towards them leaving the mages to their own devices.

Cris: “They better not leave us all the way the @*#$ out here.”

The young mages already knew what to look for in the Necropolis. The entrance to the tomb would be marked with a 10 ft. tall monolith on which was carved the gold inlaid countenance of a laughing demon with a crown floating above its horned visage.

To Be Continued…