Category Archives: Return of the Runelords

The Return of the Runelords adventure path.

Remi Letter to Julia: Aug 2020

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Julia,

Fate once again brought me face 2 face with Viralane on opposite sides but at the last minute she surrendered to the group and was knocked out before I could even hit her once. Apparently the others felt that she was more valuable alive then dead and I admit that even though I wanted to hurt her it would have been wrong to kill her once she had surrendered. I was a bit too rough when searching her unconscious body and that was wrong of me. Somehow I thought that it would make me feel better but it had the opposite effect and that is not a feeling that I ever wish to experience again.

We were able to learn more about the group chasing us so some good has come from keeping Viralane alive. I have learned that Viralane is not very bright, she is cursed and instead of trying to get it removed she falls for the cult that convinces her this is a very hard curse to get rid of but if she helps them then they will find a way to get the curse removed. She is such a putz.

I have also learned a lot about her ability and it is clear that she has enjoyed a life full of manipulating people with her magic to get what she wants. Apparently being selfish and self-centered doesn’t make one evil.

With her being close to death I felt obligated to watch over her, even when some of the others suggested that we leave her tied up while we continue to search. It’s not that I really wanted to protect and guard her from danger but there is no way I could just leave her helpless.

Maybe just maybe she will turn her life around, that is if going back to performing and being intimate with married men can be considered turning her life around.

I am a little confused about the intent of Shasa in regards to helping Viralane with her curse. I am not sure if she plans to work to remove the curse or find another way that will allow her to perform on stage. I admit my sense of anger towards her brought to my mind a cruel way to allow her to go back to performing on stage without removing the curse.

This is one of those times when I really want to go surfing through her memories to determine if a second chance is justified. Regardless Viralane is getting her second chance and I just hope she doesn’t ruin it.

Captain Sursha was very happy to see the return of Viralane so that she can finally pay for her crimes. I now realize that the situation with Viralane is outside of my control and my part at least for the moment is done. As long as she follows the commands of Sursha and the crew I have to accept that there is nothing further for me to do. Hearing the determination in Sursha’s voice put me at ease and I can’t in good conscience do anything further to Viralane, although it would have been nice to be able to stab her at least once before she surrendered.

After dinner and some more time with Captain Sursha I can finally let go and I no longer have the urge to punch Viralane in the face. I accept that Desna led me to the closure that I needed rather than the one I was searching for.

I still don’t know about helping Viralane with her curse. In time Desna will provide me guidance if it is her will for me to help Viralane. For me I feel that it is too early to tell which version of Viralane we will see in the future. With her magic abilities to manipulate people’s minds I suspect that she might be able to get out of her current legal situation. She is also attractive so I don’t put it past her to use sexual favors along with mind affecting abilities to earn her freedom.

My new at least temporary roommate is Shimsa and she is enjoyable to be around. She seems a little self-conscious about not being human, I never even thought about it until I spent some time with her.  I have to assume there have been some very cruel people in her past but hopefully it has been very obvious that to me we should relish and celebrate our differences along with all of the ways we are the same. I will have to say that she is a lot neater than you are, I haven’t tripped over her clothes even once.

For now it is clear that the will of Desna is for me to travel with this group of people. It looks as if all of us have been chosen by the gods to follow this path. Something big is happening and we must do our part to make sure evil does not corrupt the world.

Even though part of me wishes you were here I feel that you are already following the right path for you.

Vlad’s Tale

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First, I suppose I should apologize, especially given what happened. I didn’t intend to be away until so late in the morning—I didn’t even expect to be gone all night—but, I actually found what I was looking for. Or rather, who. And along with that came a mystery, though in the end…well. I am getting ahead of myself.

I only lived here for about four or five years, but it felt more like home than anywhere else, and it was probably the only real family I have had. My parents…let’s just say that some people should not have children. I know that sounds strange coming from me, but it’s true.

Anyway, I ran away from Korvosa—I just can’t think of that city as home even though I spent most of my life there—when it got really bad. I am sure you heard the stories. It took me nearly a year to get to Magnimar. And it turns out I wasn’t the only one who had that idea. If you look close enough, this city is littered with runaways. Most are Varisian but there are all ethnicities and races here. There’s something about this city. Teens flock to it. Maybe because it’s safer than the alternatives.

Most live on the streets. If you’re lucky, you find a way to get by in Ordellia or Dockway. If not…you end up in the Underbridge. Or worse, in Rag’s End, which is like if your slums have slums. I spent some time there, and it was enough to have me longing for the safety and security of the Shingles. And I knew I had to get out or…well…let’s just say you don’t want to know what happens to teens who get stuck there.

I didn’t just get lucky. I got really lucky. Though Chadali would say that you make your own luck, or rather that it’s not luck at all, but the ability to see opportunity when it shows itself. I found a home of sorts for runaways more or less like myself, run by runaways. Kids who had banded together to keep each other safe.

Calling it a “home” might be generous. It was an abandoned building on Kyver’s island. Maybe “condemned” would be a better word. But it was a roof and walls, which is more than most find. They called it Tineri House, which is a Varisian word. Put together, it roughly translates to “youth hostel”. They only had three rules for anyone who lived there: you helped cook and clean, there was no violence, and there were no drugs.

When the Isle of Xin rose four years later, the building collapsed and a lot of kids died. It could have been worse; the earthquake struck mid-day so not everyone was home, but still…

I left Magnimar shortly after that. It was just too hard to stay. But, I always wondered whether Tineri House—the idea of it—had lived on. So when we came here yesterday…I just had to find out.

You can spot runaways from a mile away if you know what to look for, and of course i know what to look for. But I’m no longer in that world, so I couldn’t just walk up to one and essentially interrogate them. There’s not a lot of trust for the outside world. Most of the youth who end up here? They are here because of it. Still, Chadali had led me there once before, and I trusted her to do it again.

It took a while. A few cautious inquiries here and there, and a lot of patience, and I found that  Tineri House had not merely survived in spirit: it had risen from the ashes, and it have been given the same name.

What I was not expecting were the circumstances. The original Tineri House, the one I lived in, was not much different from organized squatting. When I think about it now, I am amazed it survived as long as it had. Youth are not known for their discipline and discretion. But I think we were more or less tolerated, as the people in Ordellia knew the alternatives, too. It helped that we kept a low profile, and the rules were designed to keep it that way.

But the new Tineri House…it has a benefactor. Oh, it’s still an abandoned building, but someone bought it at auction for that purpose. And that’s why I was gone for so long. I needed to know who, and why.

Why did I need to know? Well, the original Tineri House…it was just a stone’s throw from the Seven’s Sawmill. And so is the new one.

Of course, I didn’t know that was significant back then. None of us did. But Droste has Takkad’s Journal, and it’s at the very beginning that he talks about the malfeasance that took place there. And then Audrahni told us her story that involved, of all people, Justice Ironbriar. And I got scared. Because nothing is free in life, not honestly anyway, and I had to know if they were under someone’s thumb.

So I did some digging. Because I needed to know.

Turns out there was nothing to know. The owner…they had lived in the original Tineri House. They were a little before my time so I didn’t recognize them, but I asked and their story checked out. They had managed to do well for themselves over the years, and they had some money, and some connections, and when the opportunity came along to buy an abandoned building for coppers on the gold piece? They acted.

So as I said, in the end, it was nothing. But I am still glad that I looked.

Captain’s Log, 6th Erastus 4718

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A captain’s nightmare. Sailing up to Rivenrake—already a “cursed” destination according to many of the more superstitious among us. Sending out a longboat to take six passengers ashore for a little sightseeing. Fair enough—it’s their coin paying for the little side trip, and many are curious to see the island that is the source of so many rumors and ghost stories. But as the crew watched in horror, the passengers murdered the crew who rowed them ashore, leaving their bodies as they disappeared inland. Knowing that a mutiny would ensue if more crew were sent to that beach, the captain abandoned their bodies and the longboat to return to port in Magnimar.

That was the tale I was told by the captain of the Lordim Racer. As much as I wish that were just a tall tale told around a campfire, it actually happened. And here I am, at the scene of the crime. This time I have brought my friends to this place. On the trail, whether intentionally or not, of those killers. They have faced worse, from all their stories. But still, I will worry until they are back safely aboard Tyalee’s Whim. Who knows what dangers lurk in that cursed mountain? Just looking up at that giant face carved into its peak is disconcerting.

Oh, Tyalee, my dearest, my love.

At times like this I wonder where you have gone, what you’re up to… if you’re safe…

Every time I sail over mother’s grave these thoughts hit me, but now, as I sit at anchor within sight of Hollow Mountain, my new friends risking life and limb for their mission, my mind is dwelling on these morbid thoughts.

And I miss your carefree, unpredictable nature, your love for life. Perhaps Ashava can guide my mind back to still waters. How ironic that the Elf maiden who introduced me to the worship of the True Spark, who helped me overcome my despair as our love dashed on the rocks and we went our separate paths, couldn’t overcome her own pain and sadness about her own past?

Until last week, at least. I am happy for her newfound joy and peace, as much as every time I think of you, my Tyalee, full of hope that somewhere you are flitting from island to island out there exulting in every random moment of your life. I know I had to choose… couldn’t follow you on the path you had to take. But I still scan every dock of every port on the chance that perhaps you are there too. Straining to see your familiar form standing in the sunlight, your hair blowing in the breeze.

But alas, I need to keep my mind here on the present situation. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll send a crew to collect the longboat abandoned by the Racer. I hope they are not too afraid of any kind of taint of cursing on it for being at the scene of the murders or even just for being on the Old Man’s Launch which they say is haunted.

Captain’s Log, 29th Sarenith 4718

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Tyalee’s Whim is docked at last in her familiar berth in the Ordellia district. This has certainly been a more eventful voyage than I thought it would be at first. Storms are always a risk every captain understands will strike where they may, and this trip was no exception. We were hit at midnight mid-journey with a bad one. At one point or two we surely would have had lost a crew member overboard if not for the quick actions of our daring and capable passengers. They certainly more than paid for their passage with their assistance in times of need such as that.

But as fate would have it, they were on hand to prevent an even worse catastrophe. Another of the passengers, the alchemist Beckwood Roos, had snuck a dangerous creature aboard under the pretense it was a crate of equipment. It broke out during the voyage and doubtless would have eaten the cargo of cattle and as many of the crew as it could have before we’d have stopped it. As I have learned, it apparently grows larger as it feeds, so that would be a problem that would make itself worse the longer it goes on. Due to the quick work on the part of this adventuring party, however, it was dispatched without much incident.

The other big trouble came from another pair of the passengers. I had been quite pleased to be carrying the renowned Viralane Barvisai. She was pleasant, personable, and while I thought her doting halfling assistant Corla was a little too devoted which to be honest I found somewhat cringeworthy, nothing seemed to me to be amiss about them. Imagine my shock and dismay to find that as we neared our destination at Magnimar, Viralane assaulted one of my passengers, Remi, and attempted to steal from her. While thankfully no one was seriously injured, the party subdued the pair although Viralane managed to escape through magical means.

I have now turned over Corla and Roos to a pair of Hellknights who had paused their patrol to watch as we discussed the prisoners with the harbormaster’s agent. They stepped up and promised to deliver the pair to justice, which visibly drained the blood from the faces of both of them. I have always regarded these “peacekeeping forces” with mixed feelings at best. I couldn’t honestly say if they meant they would deliver them into the hands of the city guard, magistrates, or to mete out justice themselves as they saw fit. I might care more to intervene except for the ways each of them endangered my crew and passengers. And for that I feel little need to show them extra mercy. No one messes with my people, not on my ship or off of it.

My crew has offloaded the cows and begun a thorough cleaning of the hold and lower deck. I know my new friends are expecting to continue on to Rivenrake Island so they can carry out some mission they have with the mountain there. I will wait until I hear back from them before agreeing to take on any other passengers or cargo. I owe them at least that much, I think. But on that point, I have heard enough other sailors in port talk about recent interest in Rivenrake to make me think there is more going on there than one party’s lone trip there for a secret mission. I should see what else I can discover that will be useful for them to know going in there.

As I was getting ready for dinner tonight, I got a visit from Audrahni. I have never seen my old friend so calm and at peace as long as I’ve known her. She told me about what happened earlier and the peace she found after putting Ilsynor’s spirit to rest. From what she said about his involvement with the Skinsaw Cult before she killed him, I don’t blame her at all for the murder, however much it tortured her for years after. But sending him to his final rest has allowed her the peace I see in her now, and perhaps will eventually be reconciled with Ashava. I would love to see her restored as a full cleric again at last. I know that would make her happiest.

For now, I will oversee the refits and final repairs we didn’t have time for in Sandpoint and ready Tyalee’s Whim for another voyage soon.

Remi’s Journal

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Knock, Knock, Knock. The door opens to a screech from Julia as she embraces Remi and pulls her inside. This once mighty warrior checks her sleeping baby and then turns her attention back to Remi.

“So tell me everything” says Julia

Remi proceeds to tell Julia the story of her trip leaving out the specific details that need to remain secret. Julia intently listens to the entire story before speaking

“So it sounds like you finally have found a good group of people to adventure with. You have always jumped to conclusions so the fact that they took the items the group was delivering to Magnimar while you were out from the poison may have a reasonable explanation. While it is possible that they have lost trust in you I suspect that it was more about making it harder for your enemies to find it. At least you didn’t die from the poison like Henric. “ says Julia

“On the way here I stopped by his grave. The helpless feeling of watching him die of the poison is hard to forget. I know that at the time there was nothing that we could have done to save him but that doesn’t make it any less painful.” Replies Remi

Julia picks up the baby and carefully front wraps her to Remi. “I think you should take me out and buy me a gift. Since I am going to try on clothes you can watch after her. I promise not to tell your mother” Julia says with a gin

“Ah” replies Remi

“We are like sisters right? Well you should get to know your niece” says Julia

After searching several shops Julia finds an outfit to her liking. “Ok this one is comfortable to wear”

“Yeah I remember when your outfits were very revealing” comments Remi

“Oh I still have those” replies Julia

The two of them head over to one of their favorite places to eat. After enjoying a good meal and conversation Julia looks at Remi intensely and says “So you do have to go see your mother. “

“I was hoping you would go with me. That way maybe she will gush over the baby.” Says Remi in a concerned voice.

After a while Remi and Julia make their way over to the family butcher shop where Remi and Julia are warmly greeted by hugs from Remi’s father. Remi spins the happy version of her adventures for her father, brother, and Joe. After answering all of their question about the trip on the ship and Roderic’s Cove Julia grabs her arm and starts leading her to the stairs saying “There is no sense in putting it off”

“Well boys I think we are better off staying down here and besides we have to get that big order ready” replies Remi’s father

As Julia and Remi reach the top of the stairs the gaze of her mother feels deathly. For a moment they all just stand there looking at each other until suddenly the silence is broken by her mother “Oh let me see that precious girl. You haven’t been over to see us in a while.”

Remi’s mother takes the baby gushing over the little one “Oh isn’t she just the sweetest little baby girl. If your auntie over there would just settle down like a normal woman you would have someone to play with. I bet if she had a darling little girl like you she would quickly forget that nonsense about being an adventurer. ”

Remi’s mother hands the baby back to Julia and then turns her attention to Remi “So are you finally done with that crazy idea that you can be an adventurer. Clearly everyone sees that you are not an adventure, why else would you be back so soon. Or maybe you are pregnant. Oh my dear you don’t have to worry if you are pregnant because there are several men willing to marry you even if you are pregnant. “

Remi blurts out “I am not pregnant”

“Remi it’s time for you to grow up, get married, and start having kids. I don’t know why you have to be so much like your grandmother. “Exclaims her mother

Remi looks intently at her mother “I am not your only child. I am not about to start having kids because you think it is time. “

“Your brother and Joe work long hours in the butcher shop. Right now is not a good time for them to adopt a child” replies her mother

At that moment a familiar set of arms wraps around Remi as her grandmother says “Your daughter is going to make up her own mind whether you like it or not.”

Remi and her mother spend the next 45 minutes glaring at each other as Julia and grandmother attempt to keep the conversation light.

“Well I have to go meet up with my companions. We will be heading out on a new adventure soon and there are a lot of arrangements to be made before we leave” says Remi as she walks over and embraces her mother in a warm hug.

“I love you mom, but you drive me crazy.” Says Remi while still hugging her mother

“Well you drive me crazy too but I love you too daughter” replies her mother

Remi hugs her grandmother and then Remi escorts Julia back home before rejoining her companions.

Letter to Julia

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Julia,

I have finally made it to Roderics cove. I know that you are not surprised to hear that the trip here was fantastic. The open air on the water was wonderfully refreshing. The ship’s captain is an amazing woman and even a fool would be able to tell that her crew has great respect for her.  While the trip is was fun the open sea doesn’t seem to be my calling. I have found a group of adventures to team up with. Sadly they have recently lost one of their companions. After what happened to Ricardo I understand their pain.

I of course will not be in Magnamar for the Ritual of Stardust so your will just have to get along without you favorite follower of Desna. I know that you always look forward our traditional day of new experiences but with a new child it is best if you don’t do anything dangerous.  Besides your child is your great new experience this year. I will do my best to keep out of trouble this year, how could I possibly get into as much trouble when you are not around.

I have only been with the group a short while but it is very encouraging that the 3 follower of Serenrae are all women. It is refreshing to once again to be able to fight alongside capable women.  The men in the group seem reasonable but the Halfling wizard Jigu seems to have forsaken the gods and I worry for his soul. It is not may place to judge or even try to convert him so I just let him follow his own path as long as he is not disrespectful of Desna. One of the Serenrae followers Sasha has been bless with the gift of both arcane and divine magic. Her sister and the other follower of Serenrae seem to be more of the path of the sword. The two warriors of Serenrae both seem to have the ability to detect evil like a Paladin or inquisitor. The man called Droste favors the bow and seems to have rogue skills as well. Droste is one of those major Thassilionian geeks and I haven’t figure out the lengths he would go to gain Thassilionian knowledge. The last guy is Vlad. Vlad seems to be a cross between warrior and magic user so he might also have an interesting story to tell.

I have fallen into something major with these people. Obviously I can’t write about it so you will just have to wait until I come to visit. Without going into details I am a little bit worried and a lot curious about the very dangerous situation here.  The task is huge and I now see why they allowed me assist them in this task. They really haven’t said what they plan after the current issue is resolved but at least for now I am getting an equal share to assist with this situation.

I want you to know that I just couldn’t stand being cooped up any longer and this has nothing to do with last year’s Ritual of Stardust. Beside with a new baby girl you should focus on the new baby Jessica and your husband William so you don’t have time to try to top what you did to me last year. I promise that someday in the future to return to Magnamar for the Ritual of Stardust and as always I will without question accept whatever you have in store for me for the Ritual of Stardust.

Your best friend forever

Remi

Thassilonian Leftovers – Jigu’s stories

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Wealday, 6 Sarenith

Well, yes, as luck would have it, there were a couple of more guards … and a strange dwarf named Dolland who was more of a leader than a guard.  He was tougher to subdue and came within a whisker of  being killed, but ended up surrendering just in time.  From him and the 1 dead guard and 3 guard prisoners we retrieved

[1374] Studded leather armor +1
[1375] 3 vials acid
[1376] 2 vials antitoxin
[1377] 3 vials blue whinnis
[1378] 2 vials Terinav root
[1379] MW Shortsword
[1380] book of recipes – Alchemical
[1381] MW thieves tools
[1382] med bag of holding
[1383] bejewelled holy symbol w/peacock feathers

[1361] potion of barkskin
[1362] potion of bulls’ strength
[1364] potion of cat’s grace
[1365] potion of dark vision
[1366] potion of invisibility
[1367] potion of protection from arrows
[1368] potion of reduce person
[1369] splint armor +1
[1370] scroll of protection from evil
[1371] MW cestus

Still badly injured, Dolland turned out to be a font of information.  He had been tasked with opening the mysterious locked door inn the room we fought in, but had been unsuccessful.  More immediately he claimed his assistant had died here from a trap and became a ‘mechanical ghost’.  She continues to install traps in the conference room, for reasons only she knows.  Fixers, we are, all of us and so we felt we needed to put this right.

Dolland also mentioned that there are – or rather, had been – three main leaders for the RoadKeepers: he himself, Lullaby, and Mother NightThrush.  That left only Lullaby unaccounted for – and she, he said, has a reputation for holding a grudge.

He also revealed that Cristella, of the Peacock house, owned a rapier with an invisible blade … as we’d suspected.

He told us there was probably a couple dozen students at the Peacock House.

We decided to disarm any traps and then proceed to find the body of his dead assistance.  That went pretty well, except the ghost came and found us and proceeded to toss Dolland against the wall and start throwing rocks at the rest of us.  We defeated the haunt but felt like we could have done better.

Didn’t take too long to discover Sharlise’s body,  We also found 44gp and

[1372] ring of feather fall
[1373[ boots of elvenkind

We returned to the room with the puzzling door.  We had  secret weapon – we had a sihedron pattern from the back of one of Sir Roderic’s maps that looked a lot like an insignia on the door.  While Dolland went on and on about how the door was impenetrably sealed, and secure, and incredibly hard to force open, it was Droste, I think, who walked over to the sihedron, adjusted a few symbols, and opened the door.

Dolland is a dwarf so his jaw didn’t have far to drop but it was still rewarding to watch it happen.

Inside was at least one smooth white marble wall but also an impenetrable fog.  We tied a rope to Droste and he walked in.  We heard nothing from him until he returned, claiming that inside, the fog was gone and vision was clear.  He found a pair of [1384] gauntlets which radiated/shone/blinded us with strong magic, and there were Thassilonian symbols on them.  We remembered Sir Roderic’s admonition that we needed the gauntlets.  Whatever they could do, we at least now had possession of them.

Droste remarked that the evidence inside the chamber suggested there had been a powerful fire trap there but it had been triggered and thus rendered harmless.  And while inside, he’d been completely isolated from the outside world – no sound, no light, no indication of anything happening.  Curious.

Nearby there was another room which seemed to be another teleport room.  Dolland emotionlessly told us it went to a ‘meeting room’. So … since it sounded harmless, Yanor, Droste, and Vlad tried it out.  And they did end up in a room with a force wall separating one side from the other.  There were two goblins – one, a very hungry goblin and one dead – and a dead goblin dog on the other side of the force wall.  First thing the goblin asked for was food.  His name was Murkel. Droste said he’d bring him food.  But since reaching his teleport platform likely would involve a longish journey around to the goblin lair again, they expedited the rescue by destroying the force wall and pulling him across.  Sigh.

We decided to spend the night here and head back in the morning.

Oathday, 7 Sarenith

Things were uneventful, up until the point we reached the ferry.  There, three RoadKeepers tried to insist on a toll.  However, we surrounded them, and told them if they came quietly, nobody would get hurt.  One of them tried to run, and Shimsa cut him well.  The others hesitated but when Dolland suggested it would be in their best interests, they conceded.  Three more prisoners.  We collected their short swords, daggers, and potions of CLW.

And headed into town to turn everybody over to the guards.

We then visited Audrahni and brought her up to date, including news about the gauntlets.

We decided to rest or shop the rest of the day, and head out to Roderic’s Wreck on Fireday to see if he was feeling more restful now.

Fireday, 8 Sarenith

Well, the visit was largely uneventful.  Roderic was, I’d say, pleased with our progress but to call him restful would be a travesty.  We cleaned the Wreck of a poltergeist and some spiders, but other than that we made little progress.  Yanor, however, was apparently more bored than the rest of us, and so simply put on the gauntlets to see what they might do.

He became instantly aware that while wearing them, he could be shielded from the influence of a single intelligent artifact.

Like, maybe, a rapier with an invisible blade?

Thassilonian Leftovers – Jigu’s stories

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Toilday, 5 Sarenith

Yes!  We sold some of the things we found and I now have enough to restock a little … and also buy that haversack.  Now I need not be penalized for being a bit less bulky than the tall ones.  A few extra sling stones need not have me bent over with back pain any longer.

We had barely returned from our shopping trip when we heard Kynae screaming down near the river.  We quickly rushed to his side and he seemed unharmed … whoa, uninjured perhaps.  He was, however, covered in what seemed to be bile or vomit.  Yet he was peering angrily up into the trees and seemed otherwise unharmed.

Following his gaze, we quickly spotted a fairly ugly looking man even smaller than me, looking down from the tree with a somewhat smug and satisfied look on his face.  He identified himself as Retch.   Since Shura and I were the closest we called up to the creature in a not unfriendly manner, “Hey! Wait up!”

We tried to get him to come down, but it wasn’t until we mentioned drinks that his eyes widened, his ears pricked up, and he came down.  While Shura went to the nearby pub, I tried talking more with him — and got vomited upon for my trouble.  This was apparently uproariously funny to him, but trying to keep things light I slapped him on the back and chuckled halfheartedly.

Sasha used prestidigitation to clean me, but shortly, I started feeling itchy for my troubles.  I ended up retiring quickly to go rinse off in the river.  Merely touching him seemed to also carry a penalty, and my humor was fading fast.

Meanwhile, the bottle of cheap wine didn’t last long, and for that matter didn’t stay inside him long either.  I think it might have been Yanor that suggested hard liquor (I was still scrubbing bugs or fleas or something off me own in the water.  But that sure did the trick.  Oh yeah, he drank it all down, but this time at least he passed out.  We examined his belongings and found

[1105] one of 3 talismans he had – this for the beneficial winds.  If he ever fell, this would automatically cast feather fall
[1106] second talisman – freedom – if he is made motionless, this gives him freedom of movement for 3 rounds
[1107] warrior’s courage – if he feels frightened or panicked, he is shaken instead

[1108] belt pouch, containing
[1109] MW thieves tools
[1110] sack of rocks

There was a discussion, but we decided in the end that Retch had not been so egregious that we should take his things.  But we did clean up Retch (prestidigitation; nobody dared touch him again) and turn him over to the town guard.  They were surprised, pleased, and unhappy all at the same time.  “He’s been annoying quite a few folks, how, uh, lucky of you to catch him.  I, uh, guess that makes him our responsibility now.  Yeah.”

Droste and Vlad made a trip back to the ferry but learned little new.  Some chap came thru looking for the “pool of seeing your future.”

Droste and myself went back to Peacock House, mostly to annoy them but ostensibly to ask for progress on the origins of the strange corpse we’d given them.  As expected, they had nothing, but it was more fun for me than getting retched on.  Sure, okay, low bar to clear but I’m not lying.

That seemed enough adventure for one day.

Wealday, 6 Sarenith

Shura felt a compelling need to try to redeem Retch, I guess, so she and Sasha gave it a go.  He was unrepentant and tried to vomit on them both.  Bad move, but they were apparently accepting of his decision.

It was 9am when we reached the ferry.  Today was the day we hoped to find and search the Stone House that the map told us wasn’t far from the goblin’s lair we’d cleaned out.  We got to the gobln place and scouted from there.

Didn’t take long to find a small stone house with 3 humans sitting around an apparent campfire.  There were 4 wagons surrounding the area, and the three did not appear to be alert, as though on guard duty.  Consequently, after watching for a few minutes, we thought that simply asking to see the house might be sufficient.

It was not; they took offense. Treju, Dimitirin, and Sandorio all died surprisingly quickly.

As we were finishing that off, an old woman emerged from the house.  She had a strange, shimmering cloud or field about her that strongly suggested not an ordinary old woman.  But we continued playing nice, ignoring the bloodshed on the grass in front of us, and to our surprise she invited us in.

Shimsa came away with the odd and unsubstantiated feeling that it was smaller on the inside than one might think.  Based on that and, I guess, gut instinct, she attacked the old woman.  Who, as it turns out, was much less of a pushover.  She cast a color spray on Sasha and Shura, and with a sigh, the rest of us joined in. I mean, really, is it too much to ask that we wait for them to attack us first?  Rather puts on the right side of the law, I should think.

While they beat up on an old woman, I started searching for a secret door … and found one!  Droste gave it the once over for traps and then it opened right up.

A stairway led down into the darkness … but then again there was a convenient lantern right here at the top of the stairs.

Well, before heading down, we did quickly search the bodies and the area.  We found

[1329] wand of CLW [29]
[1330] chain mail
[1331] MW cold iron dagger
[1332] amulet of natural armor +1
[1333] spell components
60 platinum plus 6 gold

We also found

[1334] silver candlestick
[1335] 3 books: Varisian Fables, Plants, and Erotica

[1542] 3 short swords
[1543] 3 daggers

I took custody of the short swords and daggers and amulet.  First two went into the haversack and the amulet went around my neck.  Might as well stay a melee kind of guy for now …

Then, inspecting the wagons, we found a lot of loot.  These guys must have been taking in a fair amount of tribute at their roadside robbery stand!

[1316] 900gp of misc stuff
[1317] carved wooden box with 24 pearls
[1318] gold statue
[1320] vial of magic weapon
[1321] scroll of comprehend languages
[1322] wand of glitterdust [9]  <– I grabbed this one too

Finally ready to go down the stairs.  At the bottom there was a boarded up door along with a

[1323] silver feeding bowl  <— I picked this up
[1324] lantern

We continued thru a couple of rooms and down a couple more staircases, before we came across a few coins and a deck of cards – non magical.  While we puzzled over that we heard voices, so we put everything back and arranged ourselves in the chamber above.  Trudging up from the stairs below came six guards … and it took only a few seconds for us to gain six more short swords [1328] and six more daggers [1344].

Going down the stairs we found more guards, but the hard way this time (they nearly surprised us.)  But five more short swords [1545] and five more daggers [1546].

We keep running into more guards and while it hasn’t troubled us too badly, I’m slowly using up my spells.  Might be more morningstar in it for me if this continues.

Character: NPC

Audrahni’s Journal, 6th Sarenith, 4718 AR

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Good news, at least, has come my way today. Amidst all of the turmoil in the Cove of late, I admit I am more than ready for some good news. Thinking more in recent days about Roderic has brought back too many painful memories for me. I cannot just keep pushing everything to the background, hoping I can move on as if they never happened, or as if their implications and consequences can be ignored. I see I am going to have to go back and face them squarely and resolve them one way or another.

But first things first. Right now, I live in the Cove and the Cove has a restless soul I can help. Must help. And I pray his is the last departed soul or lifeless body I need to put to premature final rest from among the local populace. The rumor I heard of a sighting of yet another of the shapeless blobs near the Cove has me concerned that I may be hoping in vain. Fortunately whatever it really was has not yet been seen in town. I can’t take my suspicions to Julit or Larenza. I just know she’s behind it all. Somehow. I have no proof to show anyone, of course, and I could be wrong. I just know her and if anything bad is going on, I have no doubt she is somehow behind it, profiting from it, and ultimately able to brag all about it. But now Julit is obviously tired of hearing me rant about her without any proof to act upon, so I will remain civil and silent. But I am watching. Oh yes, my old friend, I am watching you.

But I mentioned good news. Julit did tell me that vile gremlin is at last caged and from what she says, on his way to becoming some other town’s problem. Good riddance.

Better news! The little band of would-be town heroes is rapidly establishing themselves as a force for good in our town and environs. They not only rescued a pair of dwarves being held captive by some goblins in the Churlwood, but they went on to wipe out the nest of goblins entirely. At least as Julit tells the tale, the goblins were deeply entrenched and had capable leadership including a spellcaster or two. Nothing sophisticated of course, probably some kind of goblin shaman or a chief who managed to figure out how to sharpen his dogslicer, but I have no doubt that was a dangerous enemy to take on and impressive that they came out on top without losing any of their people.

Best news of all? I heard from Sursha again! She’s sailing up here to the Cove. From the date of her letter and what I can guess of her itinerary, I expect to see the Whim docked any day now. I relish the chance to enjoy a quiet dinner and evening with her to catch up and talk through some of the things bouncing around in my head these days.

From the Desk of Larenza Thort

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5th Sarenith, 4718 AR

Oh, hell, no. Roderic’s Cove is not going to devolve into chaos. Not on my watch, and if I know Covers, not on anyone’s watch. Any town that can be under the thumb of Riddleport and go about fiercely telling themselves they determine their own fate, their own future damn you all isn’t going to fall apart due to a few ruffians from the woods, discontented Covers, or a ghost here or there.

And yet in the last several days all of those things have conspired to test our limits more than in recent memory. There is trouble in the Cove and by all the gods I’ll see it settle down to business as usual before our friends to the northwest take notice and decide to “help” me “maintain the order” here.

Yesterday we reached an unheard-of level of new problems when reports came in of some misshapen humanoid forms that attacked Svaci in the north woods. We still don’t know if they were once men that were melted or corrupted somehow, or human-shaped abominations someone pieced together from hunks of flesh. I’m told the scholars up at Peacock Manor are investigating. I hope they find some answers soon, in case any more of those things are around. I said as much aloud in earshot of the gravedigger, which earned me a derisive snort from her. Whatever, I don’t have time for that. I need answers.

Julit’s adding a patrol to the north just in case more of those things show up again. A shame about the guards she sent to investigate the disappearance of Galdsbredtha’s teamsters as they were driving here with a shipment from the Iron Peaks. Poor Lyndwyn was beside herself when she came pleading for help searching the Churlwood for them. We suspected Road Keepers immediately, of course, but they swore over and over that it was goblins of all things, that waylaid them, forcing them to abandon their wagon and stumble into town on foot. A small crew went back and retrieved the wagon (which was astonishingly intact, so the Keepers must not have found it yet themselves and the goblins were otherwise occupied), but there was no sign of the goblins. Now we have learned that the goblin lair was some distance away, so they abducted the dwarves and made haste to get away with their captives and didn’t bother to come back that far out again later.

Sadly, the guards sent to rescue the dwarves returned back to the Cove posthumously. We have arranged, for yet more troubling reasons (as if we needed more now), to have them buried today before sundown. That news, the bodies of the fallen, and the rescued dwarves, come courtesy of a few locals who seem to have banded together to help the Cove in our time of … whatever the hell this is that’s happening right now. They recently visited The Wreck after the ghost of Sir Roderic appeared. They say they have some kind of answers that will lead them to him finding his final rest, the poor bastard. Let us hope and pray they succeed. So far, they defeated the flesh-things, saved Svaci’s life, rescued the dwarves, and if their tale is true, rid us of the problem of living next to a forest infested with goblins.

The dwarves look like they didn’t suffer any permanent damage from their captivity, so with the goblins gone, I have asked Julit to focus on finding out what seems to have triggered this confrontation between the Keepers and the Fangs and put a stop to it before we have to bury more Covers.

I must stop for now. There is much left to be done today, and I need to go unlock the map cabinet for the—I’m not sure what to call them… heroes?—to look for some of Roderic’s old maps they are curious about.