laxdnd

[laxdnd]

D&D Session #03

Episode III: “I think you should do the courageous thing and sacrifice yourself” - JJ (as Jip Dip)

Each member of the party was given separate accommodations. When they woke up from a long slumber, they found a letter, thanking them for protecting the cleric and delivering the townspeople, as well as a gemstone shaped like a bar, worth around 1,000 gold pieces.

As discussed the day before, each member of the party gathered together, and met with the children that became Warlocks, as well as Bervok’s crew, and went to the mage's guild. Once there, the party was separated from everyone else. Presumably, they were questioned separately. The party was brought to meet with the goblin named Bert, who introduced himself as a senator. He told the party that he was given a budget, and that they were to equip themselves from his wares. The party were not given a set number, but were told that Bert would figure out what was too much. This led to a significant amount of discussion about which party members needed the most new equipment, as well as discussions around some of Bert’s more unique wares.

The party decided to purchase Guyeater a new suit of armor, one that Burt specifically said would make them live longer, as well as give Omar an enhancement to his armor. Several members of the party also used some of their reward money to buy less expensive items. Ped bought a Level 3 spell scroll, and a Potion of Rockets. Omar bought a Potion of Elemental Weapon and a Potion of Recognition. Piercing Jay bought a Potion of Greater Healing, two Potions of Healing, and a Potion of Reloading. Lastly Adam bought a Potion of Unseeing, and two of Bert’s special Potions of Healing.

The mage guild seemed to confirm the likelihood that alchemical wines and beers, including the one that Bervok had made, might be able to run some interference on whatever the sickness was / is. That being said, they admitted that they still don't know much about it, and want to learn more. Because of that, and because of other things going on, they decided to send us to investigate the Zhentil Keep to learn more information, and state that we had already accepted supplies for the mission (from Bert), so we didn't have much choice in the matter.

The members of the mage guild went over what they were hoping to learn from this mission. Specifically, they wanted us to find the agents that were attempting to kidnap the children. They stated that it had been difficult to send in reinforcements there in the past, which is why that they were asking us to do so. Part of the reason that it is/was hard to send in reinforcements is due to the layers of undead that surround the city, as well as the hag infested woods that lie between Hillsfar and the Zhentil Keep. They estimated that it would be a 15 day journey to get there and back, and thus gave us 20 days of rations. Ped, however, buys some nicer rations, as he did not want to eat the original rations.

The next morning, Omar woke up, and found a new cloak in his room, which had the properties of both a cloak of billowing, and a cloak of protection (+1 to AC and saving throws!) Guteater found an intricate, black splint adamantine armor set. They also both received three biscuits, and a magic box that could hold them. The biscuits specifically had the property that they will taste/smell like the sweet treat the person consuming it most wants. As such, Guteater immediately suggests using it to poison enemies.

The mage guild gave the party a sending stone, and instructed them to send updates every day when relevant, with up to 25 words.

Adam cast Pass without Trace on the party, and they head off. They traveled through the forest for a few days - the forest was very inhospitable, and it was incredibly cold, icky, and rainy. Eventually, they came across an old wooden bridge, that didn't seem incredibly well maintained. Next to the bridge was a small hut, and outside the hut, were three young human women. The party assumed that these are the hags that we were warned about.

The party discussed how to move forward, with Piercing Jay arguing that we should ignore them, and Omar suggesting we go talk to them, with other members of the party being ambivalent, with only slight leanings. Eventually, the propensity for chaos of a few of the party members pushed them towards the hut - Omar takes the lead, and Adam subtly enhanced his wisdom.

After some discussion with the hags, they told us that we should not worry about the bridge. Omar realized with absolute certainty that they were not being deceptive, but they were not telling the full story. He presses on, and asks if they had things to sell, as well as their relationship with the Zhentarim. The Hags told Omar that they had a tiny bit of falling out, and that they had “acquired some of their people.” They then went over that they expect the party to pay 25 gold per person to cross the bridge. Several members of the party are skeptical, but Omar immediately paid the 25 gold, and Adam paid 100 for the rest of the party. Upon entering the bridge, the mirage disappeared, and they saw an old stone bridge, complete with the skeletons of many people who had failed to pay the toll.

After 7 more days of traveling, the party arrived at the other side of the forest. Given the length of time that the party had already been traveling, they realized their rations would be wholly inadequate, and that it was very likely that they will have to subsist on goodberries, and food they could hunt and forage, on the way back. The party saw the Zhentil Keep was about a day's walk away, but also saw several groups of undead creatures that would likely make that a longer trek.

The party saw two different paths they could take, one of which contained undead ogres to fight, the other containing undead beholders. The party decided that they would prefer not to deal with either, and tried to track closer to the ogres, seeing them as less dangerous, but also wanted to act like zombies so that the zombies might not attack them. Unfortunately, this does not last very long, and they are shortly engaged in battle.

Pad worked to trap several zombies in a time field, Piercing Jay heroically shot a zombie ogre in the eye from a distance, while Guteater madr his way into the thick of things. The party soon discovered that the normal zombies, except for the ogres, were not hard to hit, but unfortunately hit back equally as hard, and Omar and Guteater took several injuries. Slowly but surely, the party was able to take out a number of zombies. The battle seemed to be on pretty equal footing, but then Ped was able to cast a large spell on one of the ogres, causing it to be completely enfeebled. After that, the scales were tipped, and the party was able to finish off the rest of the attacking undead.

Given the injuries the party had sustained, they decided to spend their efforts looking for a place that they would be able to rest for the night. Guteater asked Jip Dip to scout a route, and try to find some lodging. He returned later, with talk of an abandoned farmhouse. The party sneaked over to the house, looked in the door, and realized that the farmhouse was infested with zombies. Ped and Adam fired off ranged spells from the door and immediately ran away a distance, and Jay followed suit, firing her bow into the house. A few came out, and attacked Omar, who striked back, killing one of them and knocking off it's head. Adam killed the other one attacking Omar. From there, Guteater and Omar entered the house, and took care of the remaining zombies. The house was small, and solely contained a pantry, a storage room, and a few bedrooms.

The party agreed to split up the night into four separate watches, most of which were uneventful. During the third watch however, Piercing Jay noticed a few zombies and an undead ogre heading in the direction of the house. While she considered fighting them on her own, she eventually settled to wake up Guteater, and try to have Jippity Dippity lead them astray, using a torch. Jippity Dippity was not a fan of this plan, and insisted that Piercing Jay should go by herself to fight them, and discusses the risk that would be involved with him not being able to come back for a while if he were to perish. However, he was eventually overruled, and went to distract the zombies. While there were a few close calls, he was ultimately successful.

The next morning, the party continued trekking towards the city. They ran into a cleric of Kelemvor, and two fighters attacking zombies. They did not seem to be having many issues. Nevertheless, the party went to go and help them. The Cleric introduced himself as Ruben, and asked us what brought us to the area. They explained that they were stationed out of Zhentil Keep, and were paid to help keep the zombies at bay, as there are an infinite number of them. The party was honest, but does not tell the full story, telling Ruben that there is somebody in the Zhentil Keep that they need to find, as well as about the child kidnapping.

Ruben was surprised to hear about the kidnapping, and one of the fighters specifically asked if the party had seen a child with long white hair, like his own. None of the party was familiar with someone like that. Piercing Jay explained this had happened in Yulash, and seemingly also happening elsewhere. Ruben said that he would send a message to inform the clerics in his temple, and offered to give us a discount on his services as a guide to enter the city. The party paid 20 gold a piece, and then followed him. Ruben had a map that, despite Adam's frequent attempts, he didn't let us see. The tunnels were incredibly confusing, and no one would be able to figure out what was the right path alone.

When the party arrived in the city, they saw that it was incredibly poorly kept, and there were several people clearly in pain in the streets, as well as bodies hanging from buildings. There was also a very prominent central tower that was several levels tall.

Ruben brought the party to a general store, known as The Jagged Rock, which was run by clerics of Umberlee. There, he gave us some general information about the city. Apparently, there were very few places to rent rooms, and even fewer places where you could do so legally. There was one in that is sanctioned by the Zhentarim, as well as the Battle Hall of Tempus. However, it seemed even most adventurers would use the sanctioned Inn.

Beyond that, he discussed the fact that clerics are allowed to use their magic, but other forms of magic were frowned upon, and from looking around, it was fairly simple to verify that even the other adventurers in the area weren't exactly brandishing their magic openly. Ruben then directed us to a money exchange, where the party could exchange their money for more coins like the one Omar had. Shortly after, Ruben left, and the party used the sending stone to let the Mage's Guild know they had made it into the keep. They did not receive a response.

The party also saw several people looking for jobs, and very few people who traded in Zhentil Keep currency, as well as most merchants exchanging in normal currency, and only having basic necessities for sale. Clerics seemed to be the ones upholding any sort of law that exists.

At the exchange, the party learned that there was only one place where they could exchange normal currency for zhentocoins, and that zhentocoins enforced a verbal contract on the exchange of information for that currency, once that contract is stated. Those contracts are then backed up by the state, and if you do not live up to one, Zhentarim agents would be sent to kill you. Omar and Ped both bought 1 silver zhentocoin, Piercing Jay buys 2 silver and 2 copper zhentocoin, and Adam bought one gold zhentocoin. Adam learned there are two people allowed to sell maps of the area, specifically one named Nimbaud the Magnificent, and another, Tesh the Innkeeper.

Tesh’s Inn, the party realized, was the Central Tower that they saw before. They took a closer look at it, and realized that it goes up four levels, with finer buildings on the upper levels. They learned from talking to some people that they would be able to get onto the second level, which is known as the merchants district, once they had spent a hundred gold in the area, and that they would need to earn a favor from Zhentarim nobles to get any higher.

From here, the party discussed next actions, and decided that since Adam and Piercing Jay had means of disguising themselves, they would venture into the Inn, and the others will investigate more of the Keep.

Piercing Jay disguised herself as a human, and Adam wild-shaped into a rat. They go to the bar in the Inn, and learned that it costs 30 gold per night to stay there. While there were several lavish accommodations, including drinks and fancy meals, the reason for the high price was that people staying at the Inn had full amnesty, and even Zhentarim assassins would not be allowed to kill you while you reside at the inn. They also learned about the locks on the rooms, which seemed to be magical, and incredibly hard to pick.

Piercing Jay looked around the bar, and saw a strange cat with a mask shaped like a bat. She went over to the cat, exchanged pleasantries, and wanted to know if the cat knew anything about kidnapped children. The cat, who later introduced himself as Batcat, did not want to exchange information without payment in the form of zhentocoin. Eventually, they settled, and Piercing Jay paid the cat 2 silver zhentocoin.

The cat went on to explain that Rak, a gnome that lived in the district, was complaining about noises from children, but that they had been dismissed, as many people viewed him as insane. The cat also said that Rak lived in the Apothecary, and frequently made explosions. Batcat then also mentioned that if Piercing Jay was able to find any undead mice, to let him know, and that he would pay one silver zhentocoin per undead mice hideout, and would pay her one gold zhentocoin if we were able to find an undead mouse with clown makeup and a purple suit. What a joker!

Piercing Jay went back up to the bar, and bought a room under the false alias, JP. She also bought a map at Adam's request, using Adam's gold zhentocoin to do so. Piercing Jay attempted to talk to Tesh about the missing children, and fish for information, but unfortunately got no bites. When Piercing Jay asked for her silence regarding her questions, Tesh requested a Zhentarim gold piece, which neither Adam or Piercing Jay could afford to consider.

Upon purchasing a room, they learned about how the lock mechanism for the rooms work. They received a set of codes. The first code was random, and changed every 10 days. The second code was Tesh's code, and that changed randomly. The third code is a code that Piercing Jay could set and change at her discretion.

Piercing Jay and Adam scuttered around the bar, Adam quite literally as he was a rat, trying to find more information. It became very clear very quickly that they would not be able to find any information from Zhentarim agents, as they were speaking in code. However, they did learn that no one at the inn came from the north, and the majority of the tenants arrived from the South of the Zhentil Keep.

Outside of the Inn, Omar tried to peddle information regarding the recent events of the towns that had been turned to undead, but no one particularly cared, given their frequent exposure to undead presences. Guteater paid a local to give them a tour, and information about the town, and its history.

Guteater, Ped, and Omar learned a lot. Firstly, they learned that the Zhentil Keep was not always like it is today. Apparently, the rulers of the city pissed off some extra planar shadow creatures, who killed about 90% of the population, and turned them into undead creatures. However, the Zhentarim decided to continue holding their center of operations there, due to the familiarity they had with the city, and the intricate tunnel system that lay beneath it. They also learned that thr Zhentarim had recently pissed off a group of Hags, and thus were now unable to utilize a bridge in the forest. Guteater, Omar, and Ped recognized this as the bridge they had crossed 4 days prior.

They also learned that there were two laws to the city: no one is allowed to be caught doing harm to merchants, and no one is allowed to harm Black Lords, the name for Zhentarim Nobles. Basically, if you commit a crime against someone who isn't a noble, and are able to get away with it, people will just let you be. Beyond that, there was an unofficial “Law of the Ladies,” which is important to the town, specifically that only two businesses are able to deal in prostitution, specifically the Lily Pad, and the Crimson Rose. Women who worked there would wear light green and blue, and pink and red, respectively. Notably, this was the only business not controlled by the Zhentarim in the entirety of the Zhentil Keep.

They also learned more of Nimbaud the Magnificent, who was one of the people who was able to sell maps. It was said in the town that he spies on people, but people weren't aware of how. It is later speculated by the party that he may be scrying, and hiding the fact that he is doing so. They also learned that worshiping Mystra would lead to your hands being cut off, and that this was enforced by Clerics of Loviator, who acted as the police force in the area. Further, they learned that clerics at the temple of Kelemvor were paid to help reduce the zombie population in the surrounding area. They learned that they could also receive payments for killing undead, if they were to bring in the heads of the undead that they would kill. Lastly, while they have all learned that non-divine magic is frowned upon, they learned that the Jagged Rock does sell illicit goods, and then that likely includes magic items, as the Zhentarim and Zhentil Keep brings in much strange business.

Memorable Quotes

“Hags bad, Devils good. Also, you're going to die” - Jippity Dippity

“You punch a crying kid's head off” - Carmen

New/Important Characters

Bert, Senator and Shopkeep Unnamed Hags Ruben, Cleric of Kelemvor Unnamed Fighter Unnamed Silver Haired Fighter Tesh, Zhentarim Innkeeper (na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na) BATCAT (na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na) Zhentarim Money Exchanger (unnamed) Nimbaud the Magnificent

New Locations

Hag Infested Forest (Unnamed, between Zhentil Keep and Hillsfar) Zhentil Keep (current location) The Jagged Rock, Zhentarim Store Battle Hall of Tempus Tesh’s Inn Various Levels of the Keep/Inn Apothecary (mentioned)

[laxdnd]

D&D Session #2

"The Taxpayers Don't Need it, They're Dead!" - Siena

The party reconvened, and recapped the various parties at play, and the issues that they faced, and their goals. They met and exchanged pleasantries with the people in the brewery, and learned the man in the wheelchair is named Jake. They also divided up the money they had looted from the enemies around the tree, netting them 11 gold apiece.

Omar spent some time to investigate the coin he picked up off of the enemies the party faced. After some research, he discerned that the coin didn't seem to denote value, so much as it denoted rank, or information.

The party, having promised multiple parties to help escape the city of zombies, evaluated their options. They realized that there were likely some fortifications in the upper city, where the nobles lived. Several people in the brewery commented that this is likely where the city guard ran off to, in order to protect the people who signed their paychecks, and that we would likely be able to find more information, as well as further equipment there. Bervok mentioned being on good terms with the leader of the town, having regularly brewed for him in the past. The party realized that it would take about 20 minutes to get to the upper city, whereas it would take 2.5 hours to escape the city.

As such, the party decided it would be better to go to the upper town, gather information, recuperate, and go from there. They left, alongside Bervok’s party, and the children they promised to help. Along the way, they ran into a group of zombies, many of which were sniped by Piercing Jay from afar, and made short work of. Upon arriving to the establishment of the town leader, the party found locked gates. After trying for a while to get the attention of the people inside, and seeing some indication they had been seen but not acknowledged, the party turned to more desperate tactics. Guteater, in his infinite wisdom, threw a brick through a window. Piercing Jay was able to find some loose boards in the gate, and was able to pry them open.

Suddenly, an arrow flew through the gate. While several party members, namely Guteater and Adam, were ready to throw down, the rest of the party worked to diffuse tensions against people who help some amount of suspicion that they may be zombies. Ped pointed out to them that “Have you ever heard a zombie talk,” which calmed down the attackers. Piercing Jay pointed out the governor had a vested interest in keeping Bervok alive, and the party also offered to serve as further preventative measures to prevent the zombies from entering.

After much cajoling, the group was allowed entry, and given information around what had gone on since the zombies had arrived. Apparently a blonde elf, who was presumably a Thayan noble, came there the day the zombies arrived, with an offer to fix everything within a specific amount of time, for a significant amount of gold. The party was also informed of a few other families taking refuge in the Selenite temple on the premises.

Intrigued, the party went to the temple to meet the priestess. They woke her up as it was late in the night. The priestess was named Averline, a human woman in her late thirties, who was a priestess of silver brown ranking. It was noted by several party members that this was a much higher ranking priestess than a temple of this size would warrant, and that the temple was incredibly intricate despite its size. Avelyn spoke incredibly openly about the governor and the state of affairs of the manor. She conveyed that the governor only cares about his pocketbook and not for the people of the city, much less the two families taking refuge in the temple.

Averline also commented on the elf who the governor had paid to fix the issue, stating that a non-bald Thayan noble was bad news, and that he had refused to enter the temple. The group and the priestess discussed what the party had learned about the Thayans planning to collect the zombies, and the likely implication they were trying to scam nobles out of money to provide them with that “service.” After talking, the party learned while the people at the manor did not have Bervok's ale, several people who didn't turn had drank alchemical wine, which could have been a possible cause of their immunity. Averline also gave the party a clearer picture of what had happened at the start of the zombie infestation. Some guards turned into zombies, and one of the families taking refuge did as well. The party asked if any children had gained abilities, and Averline was unaware if that was the case. She also mentioned having enough food for the families to live on for ten days. It also came up the manor should be able to house 500 people, but the governor was unwilling to accommodate his citizens. After further talk, Averline seemed intrigued and surprised that the Zhentarim had taken responsibility for the creation of the zombies.

Investigating around this temple, the party noticed a dog who seemed unwilling to enter the temple. Piercing Jay made a note to talk to the parents, and warn them about the Zhentarim, who seemed to be capturing children. Several members of the party tried to go see the dog, who promptly ran away. After a quick chase, and some investigation, the party learned this was actually an Imp! The imp claimed they had a very important job, and must steal an artifact from Averline, as his boss wanted it. Noting the rank of the imp, Ped clocked this imp was sent on a mission he was not expected to return from. While discussing, Guteater managed to pin down the imp, and trap it in a jar.

The imp, desperate to escape, bargained with the group, and gave some information, specifically that “some people had made some deals with some devils.” The party and him eventually settled on a deal to become Guteater’s familiar, in which he must provide him with 10 soul coins, or Guteater's soul would become property of Jippity Dippity, which we learn is the Imp’s name.

Talking to Averline again, she mentioned the Thayan elf had offered to transport the people of the manor, for 100 gold pieces per person. The party also asked about the artifact Jip Dip was trying to steal, but did not receive answers. It is painfully obvious Averline was aware of Jippity.

The party then went to sleep, and talked to the Governor the next morning. The party recapped much of the same information as with Averline, though with a much more gracious tone towards the governor. The party tried the alchemical wine, and found that it was a regular dark red wine that transformed into a savory fruit taste as you swallowed it, but did not seem to have the same traits as Bervok's brew. The governor believed that the temple was what prevented members of his manor turning into zombies. The governor was very grateful towards the Thayan noble who he paid to clear up the issue, specifically noting that Thayans didn't come around often.

However, the governor wanted the families living with him out, and offered the party 250 gold to take the families living in the manner out of the city. The party tried to haggle, comparing the price the Thayan offered, but the governor didn't want to hear any of it. The party decided to steal from the governor as a small act of retribution where they were able, gaining an extra 50 gold in total. As the party was already transporting people, they agreed to help.

Ped pulled Omar aside and asked to see the coin. He cast Identify on it, and learned that despite its intricate appearance, it was not magical in nature, nor was it created by a spell.

The party went back to the temple to discuss with the families living there about their plans to leave. Averline talked to the party, and discussed wanting to travel with them as well, as she believed that other parties, namely clerics of Shar, would want to take advantage of the situation, and that the temple may not be safe for long. She also asked us to stop at the general store, to find other townspeople she knew were holed up there. Averline also remarked there seemed to be bigger things at stake, and that “many pieces are moving on the chessboard, and all of us are just pawns.” Averline let us know that an informant of hers will be joining on the trip.

After discussing with Averline, Jay attempted to sway several of the guards working in the manner to join them on the trip, if for no other reason than to have other targets besides us for the zombies to attack. Several of them were actually interested, however, they all still wished to be paid, something that the party was not in favor of providing.

When it was time to embark and leave the city, a human with long dark braided hair, a sky blue kimono, who didn't look like he was from the manor arrived and talked to Averline. When the party engaged with him, he simply said that he is a person, and that he has been paid to leave with us. Discussing with Averline, we learned that there was a lot of information we could potentially purchase from this person if we had the capital. The party decided to ask about the coin, and spent 50 gold in total to learn the base purpose of the coin. The man told us that the currency was used exclusively by the Zhentarim, and exclusively in Zhentil Keep.

While Zhentil Keep is destroyed, the party learned that the Zhentarim are still operating out of that city, in order to keep a low profile. The currency could be exchanged for normal gold pieces, and several different variants of the Zhentil Keep currency exist, a copper zhentocoin, which can be exchanged for 30 gold, as well as silver, gold, and platinum zentocoins exist.

The party gained two shoddy carts from the governor to aid them in the trip, which could seat four people comfortably, and six uncomfortably. Adam cast Pass without Trace on the group, and they goy to the store without much issue. However, they found 20 people they needed to help escape the city in the store.

The party also found more supplies in the store, specifically 10 gold pieces, 2 Potions of Healing, and 1 Potion of Heroism. The Potions of Healing are taken by Piercing Jay and Guteater.

In the store, each member of the party rides on top of a horse, and each names their own horse. Piercing Jay names her’s Misty, Omar It’ame, Ped Horse, Guteater Dippity Gippity, and Adam Nova. While the group successfully escaped the city without attracting much attention from the zombies, shortly after they left the city premises, they saw a group of people approaching quickly. When those people were 100 ft away, the caravans suddenly became pelted with arrows. Ped cast Fog of War quickly to prevent further casualties.

After killing several of the civilians the party were helping, and after they reached us, they exclaimed they only meant to injure us, not to kill the commoners. Specifically, they were interested in capturing Averline, stating that they would leave the party alone if they left and made Averline leave the caravan. Piercing Jay quipped that they didn't know an Averline, and they don't/wouldn't know that she's with the party. The party tried to determine what enemies they were facing, and what weapons they were carrying, but because of the fog, they were unable to do so.

Omar tried to hit the enemy with a ranged attack and missed, kicking off the exchange. Adam flew up, and shot a powerful guiding bolt at the leader, whom the party could now discern was a cleric of Shar, due to her intricate, dark justiciar’s armor, and ducks back into the fog. Guteater managed to kill one, knocking it to the ground with his sword - however, the success is short lived, as the enemy dispelled the fog cloud Ped had formed.

Ped cast enlarge on Omar, to make his melee attacks more effective. Omar made a flurry of blows, and caught an arrow midair and breaks it with his bare hands, and immediately attacked one of the enemy mages through a small chink in their armor, killing them. The enemy, seeing Omar’s ability landed a powerful blow on him, however Ped’s magic reversed time and undid the attack.

The cleric of Shar, realizing the situation, summoned a spiritual weapon and a guardian of faith to aid in the battle. However, despite many of her servants taking a large amount of attacks, several members of the party took many attacks at the cleric, and were unable to land many successful blows.

The enemy sends several enemies to attack Omar, and he falls. He was risen by Piercing Jay casting Cure Wounds. Ped, seeing several wounded enemies, casts sleep, taking many of them out of commission very quickly. Guteater, having been on the front lines, dealt significant damage, but has also taken significant damage, and Ped ran interference by casting Puppet and moving enemies away from him.

At this point, while the Shar cleric knew she could push her luck, did not want to risk a few well placed blows sending her to her death, and ran away, leaving the spiritual weapon and guardian to aid her escape. Piercing Jay followed in pursuit, and sent a few attacks, but the cleric was able to escape, and the party dealt with the rest of the enemies. A few of the enemies drank a potion, and instantly died. The party assumed they chose to die rather than be captured and interrogated.

The party was able to find 120 gold, and 3 vials of poison on the enemies they had killed.

From there, the party recuperated, and took the next three days to travel to Hillsfar. Averline told us that we would be rewarded when we arrived. When questioned about why we were not told about the potential for those enemies, Averline explained she is surprised we were not killed, and that she valued the artifact she was carrying more than the lives of the party.

When the party arrived at Hillsfar, they saw several refugees coming in from other cities around the area, and they realized several people were able to escape from the city. They also saw several clerics burning bodies, presumably those that had turned into zombies. Averline brought us to a camp and had a chat with a priestess. She later informs us that Princess Davion, Priestess of Lathander, would like to chat with the party about what they knew about the sickness. The party entered Lucia Davion’s tent at the Temple of Lathander, and were given elixirs that should prevent the sickness from affecting them. The party discussed most of the events as they saw them for the past days, and did so truthfully. When the party discussed Bervok's brew, with Lucia, they learned that the elixir had components from the Underdark, which gave some explanation as to why Bervok's brew was helpful. Lucia seemed visibly confused when the party explained the situation with the Thayan elf. The conversation ended with talking about the children's newfound warlock powers, and the group was told to go to the wizards guild the next day, and to bring the children to better learn what was happening.

Memorable Quotes: "Any good holy devil looks for a promotion" - Jiperdy Diperdy

New/Important Characters:

Lucia Davion (Priestess of Lathander) Governor of Yulash Jake (man with Bervok in wheelchair) Averline (Priestess of Selune) Unnamed associate/informant of Averline Unnamed Cleric of Shar

New Locations:

Governor's Mansion, Uptown Yulash Temple of Selune, within Governor's Mansion Hillsfar (current)

[laxdnd]

D&D Session #0 and #1

A new group for a new adventure!

The setting is in the Moonsea region of the Forgotten Realms. The characters will start in the city of Yulash and begin at Level 3.

Siena: Gloomstalker Ranger Carmen: Champion Fighter Alex: Way of the Mercy Monk William: Circle of Stars Druid Zach: Chronology Wizard

Episode I: “Is there anyone with a big yellow exclamation mark over their head?” - Zach

In Yulash, on one fateful night, several adventurers, merchants, and locals gathered around the bar of an inn. Bervok Strongbewer worked alongside a Drow Ranger companion, to sell 3 bottles of his legendary ale, stating that as the last living member of his family, he was the only one who knew how to create it, among other claims, such as that it would cure sickness in order to bolster sales. He had some early success selling a bottle to a group of halflings.

Guteater, a Lizardfolk Champion Fighter (which you would obviously know if you had eyes), actively looked for new and creative ways to earn more gold. As such, they actively blocked

Omar, an unsuspecting Human Way of the Mercy Monk, and demanded he give him 5 silver. Omar, not having any gold on him, promised to return the silver to him later.

Piercing Jay, a Tabaxi Gloomstalker Ranger, and a companion of Guteater, quickly went to work trying to recruit an adventuring party. As such, she and Guteater joined a Gnome Chronurgy Wizard,

Ped. Ped was incredibly receptive towards the idea of joining an adventuring party, as he had studied everything! From the lands, to their histories, and stated that he specialized in an area, and showcased his pocket watch. Guteater was skeptical of Ped, but quickly changed his tune after Ped was able to create him a mechanical rat to chase.

Adam Solis, an Aasimar Circle of the Stars druid, hearing the commotion of Guteater chasing the mechanical rat, went over to join the conversation. Omar, seeing where Guteater is, and having received change from the bar, went over to give Guteater the money he requested earlier, honoring his word. Piercing Jay, having been keeping tabs on Guteater’s antics throughout the evening, intercepts Omar, claiming that the 5 silver certainly isn’t necessary. Omar insists, and Piercing Jay reluctantly takes the gold, pocketing it, realizing that Guteater has seemed to forget the event.

Bervok Strongbewer, seeing this grouping of people, goes over and tries to sell his last two bottles to the group. After hearing the spiel about the brew, Adam, Omar, and Ped decided to try a sample, being charged 1 silver for a shot’s amount of it. Ped was able to quickly deduce that the ale had some magical properties, and upon pressing, Strongbew revealed that there was a special ingredient that came from the Underdark. Ped tried to haggle with Strongbewer, offering his services to retrieve the special ingredient in the future. Strongbewer was not in favor of this solution. During this conversation, Strongbewer offered that if the rest of the party wanted to buy his wares, his brewery was in the large hollow tree at the center of the town.

Adam and Omar both sampled the ale, and both decided to purchase a bottle for 8 gold apiece after they had. While Omar was perfectly fine after, Adam, due to his weaker stomach, became incapacitated for a few minutes. Guteater, in this moment, tried to grab the bottle from Adam.

Adam, realizing his state of being, conjured several goodberries, ate one, and gave some to Guteater in lieu of the bottle. Guteater, seeing these were berries, complained that he didn’t eat food from that spectrum of color - but relented when Adam pointed out it was the same color as rat meat.

Piercing Jay had a similar conversation with Adam and Omar about joining an adventuring party. Adam quickly agreed, stating he had wanted to join one instead of continuing his role as an apprentice mapmaker, but didn’t know how, and as such had simply traveled to a place adventurers had been.

Eventually, the group settled in with one another, all of whom having conversed with each other, discussed plans of future adventures, and drank and talked the rest of the night away. Before settling into bed, they agreed that they might pursue work first by trying to venture to the Underdark on behalf of Bervok

Day 2

When the group woke up the next morning, Piercing Jay and Guteater both noted feeling sick to a certain extent. However, there was not much time to discuss, as upon exiting their rooms, they discovered several halflings, and merchants from the previous day, trying to attack, and specifically bite them, when they left their rooms. When they were bitten, they realized they had to fight off some kind of infection. Jay narrowly escapes being grabbed by the halflings, and deals a critical hit to one.

Omar, Ped, and Adam joined the fight shortly thereafter, after waking up due to the commotion. Ped and Adam both tried to make ranged spell attacks, with both necrotic and radiant damage types, and found the enemies were weak to radiant damage. Omar stays up front, delivering several flurries of blows to the enemies, but also taking the brunt of the damage dealt, also becoming grappled.

Ped was quickly grappled by one of the halflings, but was able to escape by shocking the halfling, and misty stepping away. The rest of the battle consists of Adam and Ped making ranged spell attacks, Guteater and Omar attacking directly, and Jay using both her shortsword and crossbow depending on what the situation called for. The ebb and flow of the battle was mostly determined by grapple checks made by the enemies, and the party killing them to allow them to escape grapple.

Guteater delivers the final blow to the last enemy, one of the merchants from the previous night, eating them whole as a final show of dominance. The party has prevailaed, but not without a significant loss of resources, several noting that they used up a large amount of their spell slots, and Omar especially being low on health.

Upon examining the bodies of the halflings, the party determined that all of the halflings looked healthy, and had bite marks on them, except for one who had appeared to be poisoned. The group discussed the previous night, and believed that the ale Adam, Omar, and Ped had drank had some sort of preventative measure towards the infection. The party also investigated the merchant’s rooms, and discovered a silvered sword, taken by Guteater, 2 potions of healing, and 44 gold, taken by Guteater.

After a few quick heals on Omar, including one of the potions of healing, the group proceeded to go to the bar area. While still on the stairs, they heard several people. Specifically, they heard some of the merchants, who appeared to be undead, and 2 humanoids who seemed to be negotiating with the undead. One of them had a pin on their cloak, with a black snake with wings. The person with the pin seemed to take responsibility for the current set of events.

Adam cast Pass Without Trace on the party, and Jay and Omar snuck up further to try to get more information on what was going on. Jay and Omar were able to hear some details. Specifically, they were able to determine the black pin was a symbol of the Zhentarim, a disjoint group of lawful evil individuals. They also heard that the disease should only infect/impact adults, and not children, and that the Zhentarim had intended to collect the children as slaves. Jay and Omar were also able to determine a high ranking Thayan Red Wizard was among the people there, who was attempting to “collect” the undead of the town.

Knowing the party would be outmatched by the wizard, the party started to discuss escape options, and quickly settled for using the rope in their adventuring packs to climb out the window on the second floor. From a quick glance, we were able to see most of the members of the town had turned undead. The party also saw signs of mobilization from the undead, and were able to discern there were at least 2 more Thayan Red Wizards, though were not able to determine their rank. Realizing the situation, and remembering the ale they had might be able to provide some sort of preventative measure or even cure, likely from the herb from the Underdark cited, the party decided to go to the Brewery Tree.

The party snuck through the town, approaching the Brewery Tree. As the party progressed, from the shadows, they were able to see members of the Zhentarim gathering children. The party discussed intervening, but noted that there wasn’t anything they would be able to do without alerting other members of the Zentarim and/or Red Wizards, and decides against it.

Arriving at the large tree, the party sees a commotion at the tree. Two groups of two children were fighting a group of 4 henchman, and one bald halfling woman, who appeared to be the leader of the group. To the surprise of the group, the majority of the children were firing Eldritch Blasts at the group trying to enter the tree.

Ped quickly got to work, ensnaring two of the combatants into a Time Snare, for the most part immobilizing them. Adam, Guteater, Omar, and Jay all focused their enemy on defeating the leader while the children assisting attacked the henchman. While several members of the party came close to death, a considerable amount of damage was done specifically to the bald halfling woman. Eventually, she dimension door’ed to escape the situation, leaving solely a few henchman left, which were quickly dispatched. Piercing Jay and Ped dispatch the last henchman, completing the combat.

Upon searching the members of the henchman, the party discovers 14 gold. Jay picks up a dagger, Ped grabs a second level scroll (to be determined), Omar grabs a crossbow and several bolts, and the party finds a strange copper piece with an insignia none of the party recognize on it.

Simultaneously, the children removed the makeshift barricades and allowed the party to enter the tree. Within the tree brewery, the party found 3 adults - specifically one wooden male in a wheelchair, as well as Bervok, and his Drow companion they had met the night before. We also meet the four children who were assisting us outside in fighting. Specifically, the warlocks being Haley, Astrid, and Petra, as well as a knight’s squire named Oberon.

Pretty quickly, the party begins to question Bervok about what he knows surrounding the events of the town. It becomes evident rather quickly he knows next to nothing, and acknowledges the majority of his claims about the ale were meant solely to bolster sales, but that there indeed was a specific ingredient from the Underdark which may have had some magical effects, seemingly confirming the party was correct in the assumption the herb within the ale was preventative towards the infection. However, Bervok continued to refuse to tell the party what the ingredient was.

Upon hearing the party’s belief that the ale prevented the infection from spreading, Bervok quickly noted it down, explicitly intending to use it as part of his marketing. Adam momentarily reached to burn the notebook, but cooler heads (namely, that of Piercing Jay’s) prevailed.

Bervok asked the party to help provide him safe passage out of Yulash. The party haggled for a bit, but Bervok seemed to only want to provide a safe place to rest, and provisions, in exchange for help escaping.

While the party was resting, they decided to talk to the children who had assisted them, to try to get any new information about the events that had caused this. They learned Haley was a baker’s assistant who lived next to the orphanage. She noted that her dad, a knight, had been acting strange the morning of, and that Oberon had had to kill him. She asked the party to help provide the children safe passage out of the village on top of those they had already promised passage to, which they agreed to.

Oberon admitted to being rather confused about the events. While he did not contradict anything Haley had said, they said that Haley had seemed oddly calm about the events, that she had been more calm about him killing her father than he had been, and that he believed that Petra/Astrid/Haley did not have their warlock powers before that morning.

Notable Locations

Yulash (Current Town Location)

Yulash is a town, which geographically is around 2 to 3 hours of a horseride from Hillsfar, and south of Zhentil Keep. It’s a town that is necessary to go to when setting into the nearby mountains, as well as to access the nearby important port to the Moon Sea, and as such the town is able to earn income from the merchants and adventurers that are forced to make their way through. It could charitably be called a ‘gas station town.’

Notable Characters

Bervok Strongbewer Drow Ranger Companion of Bervok (Name?) Astrid Petra Haley Oberon

Fun Quotes

“You Have Eyes, Don’t You?” - Guteater, when asked what their subclass was

“I’ve Studied Everything!” - Ped

“What prevails? The complete sustenance of a Goodberry, or Guteater’s endless hunger?” - Zach