Session 28: A First Encounter
Lord Segrid First, the ostentatious noble who previously hired the Woodwatch Crew to exorcise his family's old fort, summoned the youngest of his four sons to his home.When Alexei enters, the butler gives a bow and goes to gather the lord of the manor. Segrid hastily bumbles his way down the stairs and entraps Alexei in both ecstatic conversation and a crushing hug. Linden, Alexei's husband, nods politely from a polite distance, watching carefully.
Down to business. Segrid summoned his son for a bit of an opportunity he found. While he's sure Alexei's siblings away at dueling school and learning the arts of governing would love to take this, he thought he would give Alexei this opportunity. Segrid leads Alexei, with Linden following behind, to a freshly refurbished study room; a functional fireplace, a beautiful table with an equally beautiful spread of snacks and sweets, a hot pot of tea. Above the fireplace is mounted a fancy sword.
Segrid goes on to explain his recent windfall, how he obtained the sword of Aldori First himself and immediately sold it! The blade above the fireplace is a replica, of course. The people he hired to obtain the sword have been contracted by the king of all Brevoy, and Segrid happens to know where they are heading! Joining them could be Alexei's foot in the door to future riches, and Linden's foot in the door to an eyebrow-free face! Plus, it would be a favor to Segrid.
Segrid turns his attention to Linden, questioning his plans after he'd finished his contracted work for the Apothecary's Guild. Linden defers to his husband in matters of human estates, but he is happy to help so long as balance is maintained. After brief discussion, Linden traipses out to the kitchen and takes the opportunity to explore the manor. He notices how the manor is so much cleaner than before, how the money from that sword sale went toward refurbishing the house. His white-glove inspection complete, Linden goes about making his tea.
Alexei, left to his own devices, seeks clarification from his father as to the nature of the opportunity. He wants to know exactly what is required of him.
It's a bit of a sore subject, Segrid responds, but Brevoy has been home to a rather tenacious diabolist cult for quite some time. They're been quiet, but just recently, there was a narrowly-thwarted assassination attempt on all the heads of house, on Merry Mead no less! I don't know all the details, but it was thwarted by the people you will be helping soon! If you agree, of course. Assist them in routing the center of command of this foul Asmodeus cult.
Alexei crits a religion check to understand what's going on.
Asmodeus is one of the oldest gods, and is the true enemy of Alexei's god and all her works.
Linden returns with tea!
Alexei frets that it might be dangerous, but Segrid waves away his worry with tale of the Woodwatch Crew's goblinous escapades. Do your duty, and make some very important friends!
Alexei agrees, in the name of his god.
Segrid grants Alexei and Linden a map of the city sewers in the waterfront district of New Stetven, with a little circle denoting where the Woodwatch Crew entered the sewer.
No other details. He has complete faith in Linden's ability to track them down.
Alexei apologizes for Linden getting pulled into all this. Linden's struck by how different Alexei is from his father.
Alexei had prayed to his goddess that morning for an opportunity, and he would feel terrible if anything bad happened.
About that time, Alexei and Linden come upon a manhole that would bring them close to where the Woodwatch Crew might be.
Sitting upon the manhole cover is what appears to be a poncho with a broad-brimmed hat atop it.
Linden asks if Segrid gave descriptions of who they're looking for.
A jovial but inattentive fairy.
A fetching intellectual woman from Tianmin.
A stoic tabby catfolk.
A winged, puckish rogue from our own back yard.
They must stick out quite a lot.
None of those creatures sits upon the manhole.
Alexei asks if anyone left these clothes here. Without waiting for an answer he reaches down and grabs the poncho.
Click.
A firearm peeks out from the poncho, pointed at him.
"Yessum I did. I'd thank you not to touch my person."
"Sorry, may we have access to your...place??"
(MAY WE HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR HOLE.)
A little brass kobold tilts his hat up and licks his single eye. "Seein' my nap's been ruined anyway..." He then gets up, summarily brushes off an offer of a holy lullaby, and walks off.
Linden and Alexei debate whether or not that kobold was one of the people they're tracking. Deciding not, they then proceed down the manhole, led by the lovely rainbow cast by Alexei's Shining Symbol.
Once inside, Linden easily picks up the trail of their quarry.
Signs of a scuffle, of another kobold burrowing into the wall, and tears on the ground.
Alexei hopes it was just someone spilling a glass of water. Linden very pointedly does not lick the sewer tears to clarify.
Eventually they see what appears to be three figures in front of them...no, wait, it's four!
Meanwhile, the Woodwatch Crew spots a couple people approaching them.
Clarence expertly blocks a friendly hello by raising his shield.
Linden says, I assume you would be the people who are working for the king? My name is Linden, this is my husband, and we have been sent to assist you.
Alexei introduces himself, states his goddess sent him to help.
Sartorii points out the goddess sent him to meet in a sewer.
The Sprite walks up to the stammering man and hands him trail mix.
Clarence puts his shield away.
Alexei asks the Sprite's name. The Sprite gives Linden trail mix.
Clarence offers a handshake and gives his introduction, very carefully avoiding plant dog.
Sartorii offers two simultaneous handshakes and an introduction!
Rutana offers a head nod as there is no longer room for more handshakes, and introduces herself.
Linden asks to clarify Sartorii saying she lived here her whole life. Here?? In the sewer???
Nope. lol.
By trade, Linden is a druid and herbalist. He works in an herb garden in the city, and he is fairly good at healing magic. His husband is a cleric, and also a healer!
Everyone is very eager for healers.
The party talks about Segrid's sword, and crushes Alexei's image of Segrid actually doing any work to get that sword himself.
The Sprite flutters into Linden's face and asks how Thistle's doing, since he works at that herb patch. Linden had to take some time off recently for an important event. She's still eating as much chocolate as she can. She's fine.
After interrogating Linden, the Sprite flutters over to the keyhole on the wall and slaps in one of the keys.
The keyhole clicks and the hewn stone doors sink into the floor.
A four-foot, round, basalt plinth bears a fuelless flame. The plinth is worn as if touched by many hands.
The fire is harmless. It gives off no heat. It's a minor illusion flame that serves indication of what the plinth is. It seems to be a switch.
Sartorii touches the fire. It feels like brushing your hand across a CRT TV.
Alexei frets about her getting hurt.
Clarence just keeps his shield up.
Alexei remembers from ages ago that there used to be a handsy pickpocket running around the lower-income areas of the city that had wings. He keeps this to himself, because he's polite.
The plinth seems to be free-spinning, and would be activated by turning.
Alexei and Linden hang back, Linden holding his shield up. Rutana hangs back too.
Sartorii, the Sprite, and Clarence gather around the plinth.
The plinth spins seamlessly. With a soft click the flame turns blue and the walls rotate, shutting Alexei, Linden, and Rutana out.
Alexei, Rutana, and Linden are shut out.
The Sprite spins the plinth again. The room rotates once more, the flame turns red, and the wall opens back up.
Sartorii goes pspspsps to lure their friends into the little chamber. With everyone stuffed into the small space, the Sprite spins the plinth back to blue mode.
The walls move with a rumble, locking the party in but revealing the entrance to a larger chamber.
Linden picks his little doggy Timber up to reassure him, and places him on a convenient nearby shoulder.
Clarence continues to very pointedly ignore the cute pubby.
Amidst discussions of the buddy system, Sartorii and Clarence walk into the entrance of a hallway that is most assuredly empty.
The walls in the cave are very smooth, but the divides in the rock are so distinct they look like polished brick work.
Alexei starts stress eating the trail mix.
The hallway has a few offshoots. The first inset to the left has another crystal keyhole, of a different shape than the amethysts. Further down the hall, from the second left turn, the sound of conversation reaches the party.
Sartorii investigates that hall. She sees what seems to be a dining room with seven berobed cultists gathered around a campfire. They hold normal conversations about normal things. Weather. Sports.
Beside the fire lays a semi-skeletal dog. The dog yawns, expelling a small gout of flame, and hunkers back into its nap. Black iron mace, the sacred weapon of Asmodeus, hangs from the waist of every cultist in the room.
Sartorii reports her findings back to the party
Linden suggests trying to charm the leader of the little group of cultists. One cultist is dressed better than the others, but the party does not know enough about the cult to tell rank.
Rather than dealing with that, the party elects to check out the next plinth.
A small area hidden behind the stone wall seems to be used for general storage. Immediately to the north is a stone door with a peculiar indent.
Sartorii and Linden hear breathing. Not labored, but large, and accompanied by the sound of creaking.
Sartorii peeks into the storage room with a nat 20 on stealth.
(WHAT IS THAT.)
Atop a padded chair, a scaly, spiky creature gazes around the room.
Sartorii sneaks back and describes the creature.
A hamatula, a barbed devil. They are usually bound to guard something. If you don't try to steal it, they won't fuck with you. They are fully intelligent, smarter than most humans.
This one seems to be snoozing and look very bored, guarding a door.
Alexei suggests talking to it, very uncertain.
Half the party is fine with it, half worries this is probably very incredibly dangerous, actually.
Alexei asks why the party is down here.
Sartorii points out there's a cult.
Alexei knows the hamatula is incredibly deadly, and relates this to the party.
The party decides to go look at the other room.
There is a door to the south and another hallway to the north. Linden hears running water behind the door to the south, and does not notice any traps in the hall to the north.
Linden waves the party forward and points out another one of those switches.
Rutana saw light under the door to the south. No light at all comes out from the door to the east.
The Sprite looks under the door.
It's dark.
There is a slight amount of red light pulsing inside.
The Sprite mage hands the door open.
It's completely dark, with three people sleeping on a series of bunk beds. A rather ornate door is set in the far wall.
The door automatically closes.
The Sprite goes over some options, thinking the cultists might have a key to that door they saw earlier. Try seeing if the riff raff sleeping in here have a key, or try for the fancy guy in the dining room.
Alexei is very nervous.
The party decides on murder.
Sartorii sneaks inside. She draws her rapier and summarily executes all three sleeping cultists.
Sartorii finds no keys on the bodies, and instead turns her attention to the lockers. There are four locks but sixteen lockers. Three padlocks, one combination lock. 8, 10, 13, and 16.
Alexei notices there is light beneath the door on the far end of the room.
Linden finds a leatherbound book beneath bed 16. The book is a journal, a mess of bad poetry and memoirs of awful life in Chelliax. The book mentions they'll always remember the day Kelso saved them from that life. The same day they fell in love with him those long years ago. The date passed recently, Lamashtan 17th!
Sartorii goes in order with the lockers. 8 is full of candles, initiate robes, chalk, a ratty notebook, and a locked wooden box. She pockets the box.
The party plays dressup while Sartorii moves on to the next locker.
Alexei begs forgiveness from his goddess for donning this deceitful and disgusting garb.
Unable to find a robe that fits him, the Sprite changes his light to red to match the robes and climbs into Sartorii's pocket.
Rutana makes sure she's in her human form.
Linden suggest stuffing the dead bodies in the lockers. With no way of fitting the bodies in the tiny lockers, Sartorii just hides them under their blankets with a 30 thievery roll.
The wooden box contains six lesser healing potions, a wand of flense, and six scrolls. The scrolls are written in draconic and all are copies of Forced Mercy.
Alexei recognizes the spell.
Locker 10 emits the unmistakable scent of flayleaf. A jar precariously perched upon a pile of robes tumbles onto the floor and breaks on the floor, spilling weed everywhere. A pipe that was a gift from Kelso, matches, and a blue gem on a necklace that looks to fit the locked door encountered previously.
Locker 13 contains a leatherbound book atop a pile of clothes, a lockbox, and a pinup poster of a lady in a bikini. Sartorii passes this book to Rutana. This book laments shitty luck over the past few months. He values his job, he loves keeping everything stocked, everyone is happy to see him. His best cloak snagged on a piece of metal. The horse tracks were mean to him. He dropped his trial key into the cooling stream below the common room.
The notebook from locker 8 is a mess of notes and theories, the journal of a trainer. He is impatient with Kelso and his brute, which he plans to get past with celestial magic, and he keeps his device in a training room.
Locker 16 contains stacks of letters dated as far back as five years. Atop them is a golden dagger with a ruby glinting in its hilt. A six-pack of red potions sits beside the letters.