Under the Mother Whelk shell of Cothon-Under-Star, another fresh faced foreigner sought adventure in the Mother of Cities ...
Entering into the common room set under the massive sea-snail-shell Under-Star, one Thedelius Maximus Toros (the spelling may be inexact; the scribes invite "Max" to spell his name as he wishes it, if desired) found two of the Survivors of the Tel, one Torkol along with scholar Razo already engaged with a pair of hirelings (Harrava Rrl and Vlana the Bard) intent on some kind of adventure into the Tel, and in particular, into the Necropolis on its southeast slope.
After some quick introductions, including mutual appreciation between Harrava and Thedelius as fellow fighting-persons, it was agreed to also seek out the help of Mad Matho the beggar, recently hired by Avin and company on an expedition into the sea caves the Throat of Ocean.
Rumors circulate widely as to the purpose of this expedition; many at Cothon-Under-Star know that Torkol has made various inquiries into the nature of the Kdaptist sorceresses said to dwell within, and Harrava's being hired seems to suggest some purpose to do with them, as they are rumored to be Kzinrett vampire-sorceresses who wear the skins of beautiful maidens in order to seduce and waylay men ...
- Torkol (magic-user 1) accompanied by Harrava Rrl (Mrrshan 1)
- Razo (magic-user 1) accompanied by Vlana the Bard (magic-user 1) and Mad Matho (beggar)
- Thedelius Maximus Toros (fighting-man 1)
The six return through the Gate of the Fishermen, through which they exited the city earlier in the day. Matho was seen clutching his right arm as he entered the city, and the tragedy that befell him became clear later in the day when he palmed the small earnings owed to him by his employers and thence left to spend it at various watering-holes throughout the city.
What little is left of Matho's right arm is a terrible half-melted stump of an arm, bright red from whatever chemical or acid dissolved the flesh of it. The beggar isn't certain that he'll be returning to "adventuring" any time--then again, if he can't get some kind of "pension" from his erstwhile employers, he may just have to continue to beg along the streets.
Meanwhile, Harrava Rrl and Vlana each split from the group at Cothon-Under-Star to spend their earnings at their preferred lesser watering-holes throughout the city, drinking through their earnings with the appropriate abandon of hired sword-arms.
As the Fortress Moon rises high into the night, shedding its greenish light over the city as the great Red Star slips west under the dark waters of Dirac's Sea, Harrava Rrl told her tale of guiding the party around the slope of the Tel toward the Necropolis, and slaying a pair of hunting Heroic Kzinti along the way and she shows off the hilts and jaggedly broken blade of a wtsai sword as proof. Vlana, meanwhile, eagerly tells of the wonders of the tomb of Dalan the Great as she enters the mushroom-den of Cothon-Under-Star; but everything she says thereafter, of the coming of vampires, the horror of undead, etc. is probably just the influence of a bad psilocybin trip ...
Treasure
- 200 copper pieces
- 900 silver pieces
- hacksilver (700 gold)
- wtsai sword (300 gold)
- gems (4 x 50 gold) (1 x 500 gold) = 700 gold
Experience Earned
- 1792 from treasure
- 439 from Kzin Heroes x2 (200 + hp ea.)
- 50 xp to each character for withdrawing before a strange wraithlike creature
- 100 xp to each character for exploring a new "upper level" area
- 100 xp to each character for "merely setting foot" into a new "mid level" area
- 994 xp per character (497 xp for Harrava Rrl and Vlana the Bard)
- 446 gold pieces, 7 silver pieces, 5 copper pieces per character (5 gold for Mad Matho, 224 gold for Harrava Rrl and Vlana each)
Fidelious Maximus Toros, "Del" for short (to minimize confusion).
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