Session 50 Recap and the Take

Session 50 Recap and the Take

The party emerged from the Abyssal Dungeon into the dank air of the brambles. Laden heavily with loot, inured and drained of magic, they thought perhaps to camp for the night. They returned to their campsite, a secure hollow not too far from the Sordid Latch. But the hound Hector immediately picked up a scent, and when the party inspected the hollow they could see white circular marks spread on the boughs and thick brambles. Upon seeing the marks, alarm surged from the Petal Blade into Dozar. Drawing on the power of MANA-YOOD SUSHAI (MAY HIS BLESSED SLUMBER THAT SUSTAINS THE WORLD NEVER BE DISTURBED!) he questioned the noble beast in its own tongue. Hector said that something big, with many legs and a strange smell, was moving through the brambles, likely hunting them. He told Dozar that the strange tracks were very fresh.

So the party struck out immediately into the brambles, hoping to make the pagodas of the hanging merchants in one long trek. The march through the brambles was unpleasant, the dank air, constant concentration wore on the party, except for Emma, a witch who assumed the form of an owl for the purposes of travel. As they neared the bridge across the chasm, Hector became frantic, clearly urging the party on. The witch remained behind in the darkness as the party hastened downwards towards the bridge. In the darkness, the witch could see a figure approaching. He was a massive figure wearing a cowled robe, and a crude staring mask. He seemed very tall, and was bent over to move amongst the brambles. From under the bottom of his robes a huge surging mass of black clicking legs, like a mass of insects, carried him forward. He carried a huge scythe. The witch led the ominous figure on a wild goose chase, tempting him with her human form and escaping in owl form. With the extra time, the party was able to cross the bridge and proceed onward to finally arrive at the pagodas of the hanging merchants exhausted and drained.

Upon arrive they could see that the place had sustained serious damage. The upper level, where the Overmerchants have their pagodas was wrecked. Nekalimons pagodas were simply gone altogether. Malichars had the rooves blasted off of them. The bridges were gone in places, replaced by crude rope bridges. The pagodas of the undermerchants were less damaged, although both lost some merchandise in the calamity. The party inquired with Bulras about the incident. This is the story he told.

“Knowing that Bazekop was approaching, Malichar absconded with most of his goods, leaving only a few manservants to watch his pagodas. Nekalimon too sent his choice stock upstream but waited to throw himself on the mercy of Bazekop. I remained behind as I could not transport my merchandise all at once, and this is all I have.

He came from below. First a sound greeted us from darkness, a terrible din, like a thousand grubs, a surging sea of things chittering in fear, fleeing from the brambles below to the bottom of the chasm beneath. Next, all manner of eyeless things, sightless worms with wings, and strange bats, membranous gliders, burst from the darkness below to beat against the root ball above, dimming our sight and deafening our ears. Then a strong wind blew, cold and biting, through the humid air, so that our breath was sudden as frost, and the sweat on our brown cracked and froze.

In the dim light, suddenly I glimpsed a large form gracefully rise out of the canyon, delicately setting its bent legs on the bridge. Its great head was ringed by a halo of cloud, and it’s face was obscured by a long beard of frozen crystals. About its torso it wore what I thought at first was a great breastplate, with a grotesque face scrunched and wizened. A voice I will never forget called out like a hissing wind “Where is Ivar, herald to great Bazekop, Prince of the West Wind?” When none answered he said, “Answer me now or the implacable wrath of the West Wind will be yours in full measure.” It was then that Nekalimon stepped forward, falling and groveling, and blaming his rival Malichar for Iva;sr death, and Vaz the herald of Zalvorex, and most of all you. The great voice said, “The ones who slew him, not Vaz, but the others, tell me their names one by one.” And so he spoke of you each in turn weeping and pleading. When Nekalimon’s sorry narration was done, the voice said, “Now face the judgment of the Prince of the West Wind!”

At that the face on the breast plate began to move, its piercing eyes opening, and it’s strange bearded mouth gaping. From this yawning azure portal, strange things streamed, like monstrous transparent jelly fish, with feathered limbs, boreal lights moving within them. They carried great winds with them, and their blows fell like a hurricane upon the pagodas. They destroyed Nekalimon’s holding entirely, and dealt serious damage to Malichar’s as well. They slew most present; the devastation you see was all their work.”

At this the party bedded down for some much-needed sleep. But wily Salinger went looking for Ishmael, Nekalimon’s guard whom he is paying for information. Ishmael joined him, drinking late into the night. Salinger’s fatigue and the woozy pleasure of the wine made his eyelids heavy, but after some gossip about the hanging merchants, Ishmael said something that left him suddenly alert and taut. Ishmael said that a new day was dawning for Zyan. That King Umpalior, was no longer to be known as The Weeper of Indigo Tears, but rather The Harbinger of Future Splendor. That he was uniting the Guilds of Zyan Above. That he was organizing an expedition of the Inquisitor’s Guild to return the law to Zyan Between, and bring judgment to the lurid toads and the guildless scum. That the first site to be reclaimed was to be The Ruins of the Inquisitor’s Theater. Where lies Ultan’s door.

In the morning, the party discusses their predicament. Since they believe the real Umpalior to be imprisoned in the Abyssal, they suspect the hand of the Hidden King lies behind this expedition. They decide that they will have to scout the ruins of the inquisitor’s theater and see if they can return through Ultan’s door.

It turned out that there was a military force of inquisitors waiting, wearing their plague doctor masks and prayer shawls dangling with doll’s heads. An invisible Salinger scouted out the forces, which included a formidable looking puppet golem mecha. So began a carefully crafted campaign of misdirection and slaughter. It ended with 15 Executioners (soldiers), 1 Adjudicator (lieutenant), and 1 Interpreter of the Law dead. The puppet golem and its driver was disabled and hauled through Ultan’s door. In the process, Desh was slain, but given the forces arrayed against them, it was a remarkably successful return through Ultan's Door.

But the question is: What does this mean for the future?

Foes Slain or driven off:

5 Mucuous Spinners 125 XP
1 Oneiric Pudding 25 XP
15 Executioners 570 XP
1 Adjudicator 250 XP
1 Interpreter of the Law 300 XP
Puppet Golem 450 XP

Treasure Garnered

1 Damaged Puppet Mech 1000 XP
The Adjudicators Shield 1000 XP
Arms and Regalia 800 XP
Interpreter's Jewelry 1100 XP
Interpreter's Staff 300 XP
A glass globe filled with a strange black liquid ?

XP and GP per player [this includes selling off some stuff and some XP I forgot to add in for treasure that dropped out of the last recap

Evlyn M 560 GP 60 XP
Jarrett Crader 100 GP
Maxime Golubchik 100 GP for Barnabus and his guy, 987 XP and 367 GP for Emma and her lady each
Chris P. 1587 GP 1087 XP
Aleksandr Revzin 1587 GP 1087 XP
Eric Boyd 1587 GP 1087 XP
Anthony Huso 560 GP 60 XP
Unasi 1087 XP (5569 to date)