Session #65: The Tower Invincible

Last week, Lord Althis of the Crag came again into Cothon seeking adventure--but seeking for others to join him in the further exploration of certain unexplored crannies in the depths of his own Crag Keep! Two answered the call, those being Bartholomew Pettibone, and Durham of the Ringing Anvil, each followed their usual leal companions.

The company set out from the Gate of Mourners and made their way quickly into the ruins of Tsurr al Qadim--encountering on their way, near the outpost of the Poor Brothers of the Dead, a merchant train of slave-bearers run by the merchant Enshunu. No gold or wares exchanged hands at the time--only pleasant greetings--but Althis enjoined Enshunu (and through him, other merchants!) to consider the keep open and friendly to their kind, a market as yet untapped in all its potential. Or so Enshunu reported when he made his way into the city.

Meanwhile, this company entered through the gates of the Crag, and thereafter sought adventure in its depths--seeking ingress to the legendary Tower Invinvible!

• Lord Althis (magic-user 5)
  accompanied by two crossbowmen, Jermo and Nona
• Durham (fighting-man 7)
  accompanied by Pako (renyu)
• Bartholomew Pettibone (magic-user 6)
  accompanied by Gan ad-Din (fighting-man 5)

Bart and Durham, and their companions, returned to Cothon rather full, having been well-feasted by Althis and his companions and servants at the Crag. They claimed to indeed have accomplished what has seemed impossible--to penetrate into the very depths of the Tower Invincible. And most curiously, they wonder about the legends of the Elver Worms, and whence they come, for they encountered not even a scale of the dread creatures within. ... Or so they say.

They did bear evidence of having ransacked some kind of wealthy estate, however--carrying fine linens and bedding, an assortment of precious room-services, and even a great (though moldered) tapestry. Also--the  strangely musky heads of vampires, and the mortal remains of an adventurer who seemed to have succumbed to those very fiends.

the Tower Invincible, as seen from the side, rising out of a rocky
 outcropping, and the conjectured halls carved within the stone

The Tower has around it a strange field of force that resists all attempts to enter by the (closed) main gate--or even to approach very closely the tower itself--and of course catapult-shot and rams have no effect on the field, as evidenced by its continued survival even past the ruin of Old Tsurr during the Man-Kzin Wars. So how did they manage to enter it? And indeed--how is it that are creatures within that succor themselves on living flesh and blood?? And how did some other unfortunate manage the same feat of entrance (only to have his life ended before the boasting he could have done, alas!)???

All this must be told by those who went, or discovered by further adventure ...

The Lucre

• 2000 dinars (gp) from rich linens and bedding
• 2200 dinars from varied services of silver and brass
• an ancient tapestry depicting Old Tsurr in its hey-day, badly faded by time; though materially damaged, it might still be sold to the right buyer if someone with a great interest in history, esp. of Old Tsurr, could be located (~3000 gp value)
• materiel and tools for metalworking, ore-smelting, &c.; these could be sold for a tidy sum, or perhaps split between the workshops of the Ringing Anvil and the Crag Keep
• 
  six spell scrolls (but one ruined by blood, leaving only 5 viable scrolls):
  1) written in silvered ink, the spells ethereal jaunt and dimension door
  2) & 3) apparently written in invisible ink, these each hold both invisibility and invisibility 10'
  4) inscribed on the rim of a small shield, to be broken when casting: shield
  5) a strange spell, Allos' Scintillating Shield--perhaps detailed in the spellbook (below)?
• a slim "adventuring" spellbook, including a map
• matching fine short sword and handaxe taken from the dead adventurer, both worked with an electrum thunderbolt
• a black orb and the dark metal tripod upon which it can stand
  
• three grey suits with red decor, which could easily be slipped on over one's clothing; Bart claims these might protect against "poisoned light" [right]
  
• an odd brick with a glass surface on top, inside of which is a needle that can swing back and forth; it occasionally clicks, or even makes a strange "burping" sound
• 6 vampire heads, still musky

A note--the dinars from beddings and services taken from the Tower represent about 3 apartments' worth of stuff, perhaps esp. choice selections; which, given the workshop materiel, the tapestry, and the remains of the poor adventurer all also carried out of the Tower, I find reasonable for the 7-member company to have absconded with

The Learning

• 7200 xp from treasure
• 1301 xp from vampires x6 (200 + hp ea.)
• 400 xp to each player-character for penetration into the Tower Invincible

The Cut (this was the easiest money-cut I've ever had to calculate)

• 3234 xp to each player-character
  1617 xp to Gan ad-Din
• 1000 dinars to each player-character
  500 dinars to Gan and Pako
  100 dinars each to Jermo and Nona, serving as "footmen", i.e. receiving 10% shares
• the faded tapestry of Old Tsurr
• workshop materiel
• 5 spell scrolls
• the spellbook and map (the map is written inside the book)
  
• matched thunderbolt-decorated short sword and handaxe
• the black orb and its stand
• three grey suits worked with red
• a peculiarly noisy brick
• 6 vampire heads

Any item of vale that a party-member wishes to possess may be "bought out" by adding their own dinars into the pot equal to its stated value; other items must be negotiated for by the members of the company, according to their desires.

And, as always, artwork, maps drawn by players, write-ups, &c. from the point of view of the characters, sent by players to be published here, will earn the corresponding player-character 100 xp per level.

Session #64: "The Land of Yogurt and Ghee"

Last week, Durham of the Ringing Anvil gathered to him a number of fellow barbarian-adventurers in the drinking room of the Gatehouse at the Kantor Kabljauhof. Recalling a glimpse of a strange place deep in the Ocean's Throat sea-caves, Durham was looking for others interested in joining him in exploration there.

He reported having ventured into strange mists in the caves with Bartholomew Pettibone as his companion (a side venture at the time, as their main intent had actually been to address the Sakkra Kaa), and through the mists seen the edges of a kind of palace--a palace set in the midst of a jungle, under the great red sun! Impossible, and yet there it was--and Pako, Durham's faithful renyu companion reported tales from the Wasgo tribe of renyu of a kind of "Bilad al Chumetl wa Ghee", a faerie-land through the mists where the Wasgo sometimes hunted or foraged, but where not everything within was "really there".

It was on Durham's mind to investigate; and so he gathered these companions, and they all set forth across the northern beach to enter the caves and seek "the Land of Yogurt and Ghee":

• Durham (fighting-man)
  accompanied by Pako (renyu)
• Bartholomew Pettibone (magic-user)
  accompanied by Gan ad-Din (fighting-man)
• Lord Althis (magic-user)
• Heijo (magic-user)

The company returned with lips greasy from a feast fed them by the Wasgo renyu. They carried a small chest with them on their return to the Gatehouse to divide the spoils, as well as several sacks filled with foreign herbs, roots, and flowers. And their boots--though they had been traipsing across sand, and walking the cold stone of cavern floors--were muddy!

Within the chest was discovered various Alkari accoutrements--which matched up with tales later told by Pako as he spent some of his cut for beer, and worked his way through something of the deeds they'd done in his thick renyu speech:

"Wasgo send with us scouts, Hrodh, Askol, and Hatti. Hrodh is nephew of Scar. We go across water on skiff, attacked by qaqtla, but kill them. Through mists is big palace--very big!--and sun shines, but we are in cave. Jungle is around, full of smells. So many smells--because of so many flowers in palace-gardens. Is big garden-palace, and Durham wants to take cuttings, and dig up roots. I like gardens more than caves. But there are strange white people inside palace. We hide, and they leave; and then later we find Alkari, and we kill them after Althis makes them sleep with magic. That's where chest comes from. I want more beer now ..."

The Lucre

• 1770 dinars (gp) from 7 gems (1@1000, 1@500, 2@100, 1@50, 2@10)
• a magic codex, pages of almost foil-thin brass, script of bluegreen enamel; it is accompanied by notes in an alien script--perhaps the Alkari attempting to translate it?
• a magic scroll in an alien script, illuminated with sro and feathered serpents along the margins
• 700 dinars from an enameled gold anklet, worked as a twining feathered serpent
• 600 dinars from a collection of Alkari feather-dyes
• 1600 from a sro-mask--clearly some kind of religious fetish, resembling the kind of masks worn by dancers when impersonating their hero-deity--this mask is a work of art, a piece of hard tiu-wood intricately carved, its "scales" made of small seashells carefully affixed and painted black
• 8 rylath root portions (said by the Wasgo to invigorate one who eats one)
• 30 sinda berries (said by the Wasgo to fortify one against disease or poison, if one eats 10; these are dried at this point, and could be crushed and added to a drink, for instance)
• 5 hallucinogenic flowers--at least, according to the Wasgo; if the company wants any dinars for these, they would have to find the right buyer, otherwise they seem like they would make fine alchemical ingredients
• rubbings from the obelisk in the palace, taken by Bart

There were remains of the "dnelu" that the party claimed to have skinned and taken with them, which disappeared sometime between slaying it and returning to town. It was curious for having allegedly resisted the effects of mu'agh acid, but alas, it seems to have vanished!

The Learning

• 4670 xp from treasure
• 513 xp from "qaqtla" x3 (150 + hp ea.)
• 223 xp from a "dnelu" (200 + hp)
• 320 xp from Alkari x3 (100 + hp ea.)
• 161 xp from Alkari x3 (50 + hp ea.)

The Cut

• 1037 dinars and 7 dirhams to each player-character
  518 dinars and 9 dirhams to Gan ad-Din
• 1472 xp to each player-character
  736 xp to Gan ad-Din
• the codex of brass and its attendant notes
• the scroll with serpent-illuminations
• 8 rylath roots
• 30 sinda berries
• 5 hallucinogenic flowers
• Bart's rubbings from the obelisk

Player-characters who wish to retain anything for themselves may "buy out" an item of discrete dinar-value; non-valued items included in the Cut must be negotiated out per the will of the company.

And as always, write-ups, art, &c. representing the events of the expedition will earn the supplying player-character 100 xp per level.

Two Rings and a Gem -- Researches 2/2

Being a continuation of various research-undertakings and other pursuits of  the adventurer-barbarians of Cothon:

the Tumbaga Ring

The sorcerer Bartholomew Pettibone has in his possession a ring, taken on an expedition into the Necropolis of the Tel--perhaps from the very tomb of Itra the Swift?--made of red-gold tumbaga, which resembles the beaked skull of some creature with three eye-sockets; a quite gaudy thing that would sit over an entire first knuckle if worn.

except red-gold and with three eyes

Noted as magical by Heijo of the Survivors of the Tel, Bart last month spent some time looking through various magical treatises and scanning old poems and hero-stories, looking for something like it that might indicate its sorcerous function.

Thinking that the beaked triocular head resembles that of the giant dzor (image), Bart begins his inquiries there, asking associates and tavern-patrons if they've heard anything about a dzor-ring. Though few of these result in any really useful information, through conversation, Bart is reminded that the Colossian Oracle is said to be guarded by giants--dzor in fact!--and that it is counted strange just how well under their control the Oracles have these dzor, who are otherwise impossible to bend to the wills of men.

Thus curious, Bart sought out books and other sources about the Colossian Oracle, hoping to discover some correlation between their mastery over the dzor and the ring he now possessed. After hours of poring through tomes and scrolls, he finally came upon something--in certain old annals, the Oracles are described wearing the Rings of Ta'ir. Searching further, with the help of conversational suggestions, he found a fuller description of the rings in an old hero-song, where Nayran the Sailor, who plied his ways among the Denyan Isles, was first presented with such a ring by the Oracles because of their favor; and second he was delivered from the talons of Alkari pirates by his possession of it, when he showed it off to them and they bowed before him.

Per the story, a Ring of Ta'ir (or is there only one?) compels the obedience of dzor, and hlaka, and shanu'u, and giriku, and all those "born under the light of Ta'ir's Lordship". It appears to Bart, therefore, that this ring of his is a kind of ring of mastership over similar such creatures. (in the story, the Alkari only bowed to it, and released Nayran; who knows the truth, but the implication is that they respected it, but were not compelled by it)

the Gemmed Gorget

On the same expedition noted above, a gorget of blued steel was recovered, set in its center with a dark red gem that seems to glow malevolently of its own accord. Clearly magical (again, thanks to Heijo!), the gem seemed to pulse some kind of power, though noticeable only to certain of the company. Raoden feels queasy in its presence, while Sesel notes a kind of itching along his scalp; and Revna mentions the feeling of being watched by someone unseen when around the gem.

Despite Revna's apprehensions, the gem seemed no "seeing-crystal" when probed; rather it appears to house a kind of "psychic poison" affecting only those individuals who are especially psychically sensitive. After some experimentation, it is determined that anyone wearing the gorget who is subjected to any mind-affecting ability "transmits" the poison in the gem to the person affecting them--i.e. a magic-user casting ESP on someone wearing the gem would expose himself to the poison!

Just what the psychic poison does is uncertain (barring further experimentation), but that its unpleasant to suffer is undoubted.

Durham's Signet Ring

No note about research, rather this is a record of Durham's seeking of someone to make for himself a fine signet ring with which to seal the official documents of his own Ringing Anvil, as well as of his own private missives.

Well regarded as he has become at the Kantor Kabljauhof for all his assistance in clearing the pirates out of the Ocean's Throat, Durham was able to get a recommendation from the Mormaera of the Kantor to the lapidary Golden Arts, a shop of the Piedrajoya Guild (Guild of Whitesmiths and Lapidaries) which is happy to deal with barbarians. Following up on this introduction, Durham pays 200 dinars to the Golden Arts for a gold ring of unique design, the design of which will be destroyed after the ring is completed, to ensure its uniqueness.

Presumably, the design of the ring's seal is something like that of the sign of the Ringing Anvil (above), though the actual details are up to Durham to decide; but whatever those details, let this stand as a note that Durham has been granted an introduction to the Golden Arts, and is now acquainted there; and that a relationship could be further cultivated between him and the lapidary there, such that further services might be offered to a friend of the shop.

Two Swords and a Mirror -- Researches 1/2

Much activity has passed in Cothon by various barbarian-adventurers pursuing their interests, unrecorded as yet by the Scribes--but to be recorded now.

the Scimitar of Vikonyá -- the Last Goodbye

Just a couple weeks ago, Gan (no relation to Gan ad-Din, companion and servitor of Bartholomew Pettibone) was commissioned by Sesel of the Survivors to do some research on several items. One of these was the scimitar taken from Vikonyá, a pirate-sorceress who was captured at the same time as the capture of the pirate-galley Darkwing.

The sword itself is beautiful; finely balanced so that it swings easily in the hand, but with good heft to the cutting-edge, so that it makes an excellent weapon; but the blade is acid-etched with beautiful calligraphy, making it a work of art as well:

أنا الفاصل بين الطرق ، الوداع الأخير.

من يستخدمني سوف يسرع من الأرض.

I am the parter of the ways, the last goodbye  |  who lives by me, by me will too from Ardha hie

There is a magic in the poetry, and the sword almost sings through the air as it is swung; if one allows oneself to listen to the song of the sword, one can get carried away with the rush and excitement ... fortunately, when Gan was testing it, he had little enough in his chambers, and only had to replace the tattered remains of his bedding and sheets.

The Last Goodbye is a scimitar +2 to hit and damage; after 1 round of combat, if its wielder wishes, they can enter a kind of battle frenzy, throwing caution to the wind, and attack at an additional +2 to hit, +1 to damage (+4/+3 total), though at -4 AC because of their recklessness. This is not any kind of "rage" or such thing, and can be ended at any time.

the Empty Hilts

Last month, Arngeir of the Green Gleam, who when adventuring walks clad in wondrous green-hued plate armor with the maker's mark of the Ringing Anvil, began looking into a strange hilts-like object recovered on an expedition some time ago. The object is a short rod, wrapped in wire as one might wrap the hilts of a sword, but there is no blade, and no place for a tang--only the object itself. It was received in trade with the strange "kobolds" of the deep places of the Weirding Caverns, the Zoq-Fot-Pik.

Having seen Durham's "empty hilts", which Durham employs as a kind of second set of eyes, Arngeir wondered if he might help unravel the secret of Arngeir's "hilts", and so he set off to the Ringing Anvil to engage Durham's assistance.

First it was to be noted that the two empty hilts are quite different in form; while Arngeir's is merely the rod--a little long for a sword, admittedly--Durham's "hilts" is topped with a face where the guard would be, with a kind of "mirror" and many studs and twistable knobs around that mirror. It is with these studs and knobs that he controls what he "sees" through it ... and to their luck, Durham's knowledge of such things revealed a similar stud near one end of Arngeir's hilts.

Durham, having seen yet another "empty hilts" in possession of the Survivors of the Tel--an object which projects an intense beam of light from one end--and wondering if this were a similar device, suggested that Arngeir point it at something and depress the stud. And lo! a blade of fire sprang forth, with a wash of intense heat and light all around:

Surprised, Arngeir released the stud, and the blade disappeared as suddenly as it had manifested. Armed with that knowledge, with a little additional testing, Arngeir discovers a catch to keep it depressed so that the blade can be swung freely and handled like a sword. This empty hilts, it appears, actually is the hilts of a sword--a sword of fire!

the Zortrium Mirror

The other item Gan was commissioned to research was the mirror of greenish metal recovered from the so-called Undercity, or Medina al Taht, one face of which is polished to reflective clarity, the other side of which bears strange logograms spiraling in toward the center, this item has already been researched a little by Raoden of the Survivors, who revealed the bare meanings of the logograms:

"Lord of the Center, Lord Eater, Pit of the World, Wearer of Fuligin, the Circle, Hound of Hell, Master of the Black House, Warner at the Limes"

Now this same Gan looks into it on Sesel's retainer, attempting to divine meaning from the strange writings (while Raoden is busy with his own projects).

Taking the mirror into the stacks of the library at Cothon-Under-Star, Gan searches for similar references in various Klackon cultural works--poetry, narratives, histories, etc. The research is slow-going--sifting through all that material looking for such little references. Things that seem like they might be "hits" turn out to be in reference to other things ...

But eventually Gan hits on something at least: the true black of dlakolel chitin is sometimes called "fuligin" or "fuligin-black". Armed with that connection, Gan began to wonder if there might be some Klackon-kenning related to this mysterious Bel Wasat (Lord of the Center) involving dlakolel?

One thing already noted about the beetle-like dlakolel is that they are sometimes called the "steeds of al Sarakun" [under the art on that post]; thinking this must be something, Gan read about "al Sarakun", thinking perhaps it is the selfsame Bel Wasat--but that turns out to be a dead end, as "al Sarakun" is the Lord of Worms, a kind of divinity of the dead, who could only loosely be associated with this "Bel Wasat".

But despite that frustration, Gan's intuition did lead to something interesting, in the form of a strange Klackon folktale about the dlakolel:

    How the Dlakolel Got its Fuligin

Long ago, the dlakolel were white like dores; and they were smaller then, small like their cousin shalks of the desert. And one day, the paths of a dlakolel and a garthm crossed, and though the dlakolel attempted to keep its way, it was thrust aside by the garthm, and its beautiful white shell broken by the garthm's great claws.

Then the dlakolel thought to itself, "I am small and white, and weak and masculine; but I should be great and black, strong and feminine. Though I have beauty like a dore, I should want strength like a black drone." And so it set out on a quest to find its strength and color.

[a series of trials and travails follows, in which the dlakolel is joined by three companions, a chnelh trickster who wishes for real magic, a dri-ant who (similarly ridiculed as the dlakolel) wishes for power, and a kyni falcon who would catch a star; the company discovers a sorcerer in the clouds, Imsaïs, who tells them of a castle-in-the-stars, a dark fortress like a star that is not a star--Bayt al Aswad, the Black House--which is the prison of the greatest of demons, who can grant any wish, because he is at the center of everything ...

... the company contrives a means of flying to the stars, with the dlakolel and kyni carrying the chnelh; and finding the Bayt al Aswad as described by Imsaïs, they enter it, and face more trials, until finally coming face-to-face with the imprisoned demon. The chnelh with its fine words tricks the demon into granting each creature its wish, all without freeing the demon ...]

And so they fled from that Black House, and the dlakolel carried her companions with her: the chnelh with his newfound sorceries, and the kyni who had caught a star, and the dri who would raise up armies. Clad in her fuligin, the dlakolel was invisible to the servants of the Black House, and she hid her companions under the folds of her cloak as she flew, and so they escaped. And the chnelh raised up his towers; and the dri gathered her hosts; and the kyni showed off her star; but the dlakolel only went back to the jungle to live and toil as she had before, except without being bullied.

But as they had been warned, they all felt a great desire to return to the Black House, and it was a curse that had entered into them. And in turn, each would return to the Black House--the chnelh, the kyni, and the dri--and each would be swallowed according to their doom. But the dlakolel, who had gotten her color, but who thereafter lived in her place, defied the call, and so escaped that doom--and so you can see in the dlakolel that it is the place of the white dore to strive for things outside his reach; and it is the place of the black drone to be invisible as she toils, and to keep to her place; and so it should be, that dores and drones each serve their Princess in different ways.

[this last being a Klackon exhortation to "keep to one's place", of course--though it seems a later interpolation on the tale, to make it conform more to Klackon expectations ...]

(the research that got these results for the mirror is "shaky", per Ben L.'s vision of research, and so perhaps sheds a little light on things, but uncertainly ... surely there are more certain identifications of what this Bel Wasat may be ...)

From Bartholomew's Journals: Time in the Dark

[written by Phil, player of Bartholomew Pettibone, who embarked on a solo expedition into the Necropolis not long since. This is his account, worth 100 xp per level to Bart]

From the Journals of Bartholomew Pettibone, of the House Pettibone

A Purveyor of Enchanting Sorcery

10 November 2021

Time Well Spent

I have had a special oar commissioned. The wood has been well aged, is strong, heavy in weight, but light in aspect. It is not a galley oar, but a smaller version – more akin to what would be used on a punt. The oar was taken to a skilled artist and I requested that it be gaily colored, with designs showing various denizens of the deep waters – ahko, gellikites, mer-people, seaweeds entwining the shaft, and numerous of the flavorful specimens of fish caught by the locals and presented as dishes fit for members of the Great Houses.

On a brisk but clear morning I laid the oar over my shoulder, exited the city through the Mourner's Gate, and made my way toward the Necropolis along the Pallbearer's Way. Along the path I was joined by one of the Poor Brothers, who made mention that he knew of Sesel and the Survivors – and wondered if I might be associated with those hearty and well-met barbarians. I acknowledged that I was indeed a good friend of Sesel's, and traveled often with the Survivors. We talked of small things and he ultimately taught me the particulars of prayers and sacrifices offered at the altars within the Necropolis. He especially noted that the oar I carried was a good omen, and that it was good too see that not everyone was abandoning the old traditions.

Near the Necropolis the fine gentleman bid me goodbye, and after I gifted him a small number of dinars as a tip for bringing me safely to my destination, he took his leave. I stood alone, in the quiet, at the entrance to the valley of death.

The cenotaph stood to my left, to the west, and it was to that maze of crypts that I made my haste. With a lantern lit, I stepped inside, and following familiar paths I made my way to a circular crypt chamber, containing a rather large altar, almost buried under a rotting hillock of numerous broken oars. I placed candles near the altar, and lit torches within several nearby sconces, providing ample light for what came next. Finding a leverage point, and murmuring prayers for my good friends Najm and Arngier (to be blessed with an abundance of tasty fish), to Sesel (that his river-boat would bring him much pleasure), to our company and the Darkwing (that it might bring us prosperity), and to Bob (that his spirit never fade), I snapped the oar in half, and placed the pieces upon the altar.

With my duties completed, I turned to the western wall of this chamber, located a door I knew to be hidden among the crypt niches, opened it, stepped into a darkened tunnel, and closed the door behind me. I must say, the crypts are quiet – and very dark. The smell of old decay, and the dust of ages, assaulted my nose. As I moved along the hallways toward my destination I placed lit torches in wall sconces, to both light my way back out (if I needed a quick escape), and to provide ambient light throughout the tunnels. I'm not sure why it is that we always tend to scrabble about in the darkness, instead of lighting more torches.

As I neared my destination I began to hear a chittering noise, growing louder, approaching my location from the direction I had been moving. Stepping farther into darker shadows, I pulled out a vial of garum and prepared to toss it down. My plan was (if necessary) to break the vial of garum on the floor in the hopes of providing a stink to cover my trail, and to run! However, as the chittering became more discernable, I recognized it as Klackon. And indeed, a small group of Klackons became visible as they approached through the lit hallway – all chittering and clicking and clacking at each other.

At an opportune moment, I stepped into the light and called out a friendly “Hello!” They answered in their idiom, but I recognized it as a normal (certainly not hostile) greeting. I mentioned that I had been down in the catacombs previously, had spoken with their leader, Z'nor, and was under the impression that their group (the M'nor) were leaving the catacombs to work with Sesel at his Iqta. This stirred up quite the excitement, and they insisted that I travel with them, back to the safety of their lair. I intended to defy their request, but thought better of it, and ultimately accompanied them. I surmised that my destination could wait, after all it wasn't going anywhere, and what harm could there be in helping further the good-will between the M'nor and the Survivors?

Unfortunately when I was presented to Z'nor, their initial reaction was that I was a crypt-thief, and it took much to convince her not to turn me over to the Poor Brothers. In fact, I mentioned that the Poor Brothers had actually been my guides to this place, and were pleased that I was here making sacrifices and paying homage to the dead – and the living. Z'nor finally believed my intentions were legitimate, and after learning that I was a compatriot of the Survivor's, I was treated to fungal treats and sour beverages. Z'nor confirmed that the M'nor were in the process of departing the Necropolis in favor of living and working among Sesel's new Iqta. She also made it clear that our recent escapades behind the Green Doors had sparked a serious anger from one known as Ta'Keon.

She explained that Ta'Keon was the master of the “tools” (the grey men of small stature), and that his ire toward us was unfathomable. She described his appearance as similar to the “tools”, yet larger – that he had a third eye, and often rode astride a large black beetle. He was likely to come before us as a friend, and he would use his masterful skills of subterfuge and manipulation to enter into our good graces, before utterly destroying us. I thanked Z'nor for her information, and promised to pass it on to my comrades. Before I made my leave, I asked for a small boon – to be allowed to cast a spell of clairvoyance upon Z'nor, so that I might be able to learn what it was like to see through the eyes of a Klackon. She agreed, after some steep haggling, and what I found was most enlightening.

After departing the M'nor, I made the long, quiet trudge back toward my destination. I had asked the M'nor to guide me safely back, but they refused, using the excuse of needing to pack. Ah well, it was better to not have them asking me more questions, or worse, deciding to stay with me to help in my “research”.

I attained my destination, a hidden tomb, without mishap, and set up torches and my lantern in such a way as to provide enough light for my work. As there was much to do, and I was unsure of how long it might take, I set up a cold-camp within this hidden tomb. Since I expected I might be here for quite some time, knowing that I was safely sequestered, and likely hidden from discovery, would be paramount. Once I was certain that I would not be disturbed, I began my “research” in earnest.

And here, my dear readers, I must end my recitation. To be clear, I spent more time than expected within the catacombs – almost two full weeks! But I have expanded my maps by a small amount, learned much concerning Hamdi (and his exploits), Altayra (his beloved), and others who have been laid to rest (and who dwell) in these dark places. My return to Bob, behind the Green Doors, was uneventful, and once there I informed my comrades about the threat of Ta'Keon. However, concerning my “research” – that remains undisclosed.

Session #63: Lost in the Dark

Shortly after the expedition into the Ocean's Throat sea-caves about two weeks ago,  (magic-user 6) was seen about in Cothon, seeking through the market, inquiring where best to purchase a fine oar for sacrifice in the cothon-tombs buried in the recesses behind the Cenotaph of the Necropolis. His proffered explanation was that he wanted to make a sacrifice to the ancient spirits on behalf of his friends and associates Najm ibn Marwan and Arngeir of the Green Gleam, both of whom are now ship-owners as well as barbarian-adventurers.

After purchasing a fine boat oar and seeing that a woodcarver of some skill had made artistic marks upon it, Bart then set out through the Gate of Mourners to the gash in the Tel al Safina that contains the Necropolis, all alone.

And for a week at least he has not been heard from, having disappeared into the dark deeps of the Tel!

His friends and fellow Survivors of the Tel, worried about his fate, inquired with the Poor Brothers of the Dead who patrol the way to the Necropolis if they had seen Bart recently, and was he hale or no? Sesel, Voice of the Survivors sought out his friend, a captain of the Poor Brothers by name of Agon Raffa, in particular, and Agon was able to confirm--"Yes, he passed along the Pallbearers' Way. We saw him go, but I haven't heard of his return. But you barbarians--ah, sorry, Citizen, I mean your friends--are always coming and going by circuitous ways. Maybe he came in by the Fishermen's Gate?"

Well, at that time he had not; but the upshot is that Bart has finally returned! His load lighter by a boat oar and made heavier only by some kind of crown, which he surreptitiously carried under his black cloak, but which sharp-eyed passersby swore to have seen him examining intently when no-one else was looking.

He seemed somewhat haggard on his return to Cothon-Under-Sstar, leaner, and with tired circles under his eyes; and he acknowledges that he has spent some time in the dark Underworld of the Tel, though just why he was gone so long only he might tell ...

The Lucre

• a crown of beaten gold
• more that Bart is keeping to himself?

The Learning

• 3000 from treasure
• 1174 xp from mnor scouts x11 (100 + hp ea.)
• 1684 xp from shadowy treasure guardians x4 (200 + hp ea.)
• 200 xp for entrance into a formerly unexplored place

The Cut

• dinars to be determined by finding a buyer, if desired
• 6058 xp to Bart

As always, if Bart wishes to make a report of this expedition--in the form of art, account, or otherwise--to be published here, he will receive 100 xp per level

Pirates' Talk

Not long ago, a group of barbarians seized the piratical galley Darkwing where it was harbored secretly in the Ocean's Throat sea caves, and claim beyond that to have seized a secret stronghold within those caves. Durham of the Ringing Anvil in particular sailed back out to the Ocean's Throat caves immediately after that expedition, and rumor is that he installed the Wasgo Tribe of renyu in the stronghold as a kind of garrison friendly to the cadre of barbarian-adventurers in the city of Cothon.

But perhaps strangely, that expedition didn't lead to the capture of any pirates, other than the sorceress Vikonyá (who was turned over to the agents of the Hanse at the Kantor Kabljauhof for a reasonable bounty) and her ensorcelled "apprentice" Hadisha (who was returned to her family for a not insignificant reward).

Indeed, a group of fighting-men / sea-men who were with the company when they returned to Cothon, and who seemed rough-and-tumble sorts, were claimed to be men-at-arms hired by the company for their expedition, and were subsequently led from the city to Sesel's new iqta' thereafter to garrison his lands. But they were emphatically not pirates, according to the company.

Nevertheless, the company was able to relay to the cities certain fresh rumors about the campaign against the Luwian pirates currently underway east and north in Dirac's Sea, unknown at the time of the expedition, but since corroborated by messenger-biremes that have returned to the city to give word to their Hanseatic masters.

Given that corroboration, the rumors are now published here by the Scribes:

1) The Battle Off Isbota

("off" is intentional)

After their successes in the Denyan Islands, driving the Luwians from a well-placed stronghold in their eastern reaches--and holding it against a Luwian counterattack--the Hanse's fleet under Telman of Tsipa were faced with a choice: turn north against Elx, or east against the pirates closer to distant Misr?

Telman chose both, and split his forces, sending some east [this battle] while accompanying the larger portion of his fleets north toward Elx [the larger threat, described below].

To the east, a squadron of Hanseatic galleys came against a combined force of Luwian galleys and Qorcuri biremes. The Luwians and Qorcuri had been having some kind of council on the island of Isbota, the westernmost of the Qorcuri Islands--most certainly the Luwians were attempting to draw their erstwhile allies into the conflict against the Hanse, but having trouble convincing them. As the Hanseatic galleys drew near and were spotted, both groups of pirates sailed out to greet them, though the Qorcuri did so reluctantly.

Hanse northwest, Luwians south, Qorcuri east

The result was a disaster for the Luwians. They sped bravely into battle, thinking that the Qorcuri would back them strongly, but the Qorcuri hung back as the Luwian galleys entered into a melee with the Hanseatic ships. The first ram seemed to presage victory for the pirates, as a catastrophe sent one Hanseatic ship to its watery grave, but a general melee developed among rams and counter-rams. With their greater numbers, the Hanse began to take a toll, sinking Luwian ships; and when the Qorcuri finally came to aid their "fairweather friends", their lighter ships proved too fragile for a battle of rams--they should have boarded instead!--and many Qorcuri were sunk outright.

The piratical informants of the company only heard about this battle because the two Qorcuri biremes that escaped; every other pirate-vessel, of either people, was captured or sunk! A total defeat of the pirates to the east (though a bringing of the Qorcuri into the conflict, which may bolster the Luwians' strength).

2) The Battle of Elx

Meanwhile, Telman sailed with the remainder of his fleet north to Elx and its attendant islands, to deal with the Elxingite branch of Luwians. The Elxingites tend to prefer high-sided and sailed vessels that are better able to roll with the storms seen more often in northern waters. Their high sides make boarding easier, though their lack of oars makes them useless for ramming. Therefore this was a battle of differing fundamental tactics.

The Elxingites also build their settlements on high rocky escarpments that are easily defended from land, and easily supplied by water. To take them by siege would require the destruction of the Elxingite fleet. To that end, Telman sailed around to the north of the islands and provoked an attack by a massed squadron of Elxingites against his fleet of galleys, hoping to destroy them by main force.

Hanseatic galleys to the north, Elxingites to the south, an Elxingite fortified headland to the southwest

What resulted was a battle of boarding and counter-boarding. The Elxingites made good account of themselves in the melee, their crews carrying many a Hanseatic galley and putting the marines and rowers to the sword; but too many of the ships they captured were crippled by the rams of their erstwhile owners, who hoped to scuttle them and thus deny them to the pirates. Meanwhile, the Elxingite vessels proved too vulnerable to ramming, and not fleet enough to escape when pursued by oared-galleys.

All in all, the battle ended in defeat for the Elxingites, and opened Elx and its islands to invasion by Telman and his Hanseatic fleets. Though the pirates made off with 4 of their own ships, and 4 captured Hanse-galleys, they lost 11 of their own vessels to rams, which cripples their ability to project force on the waters. The only hope for the pirates now is that their garrisons hold out, while their fleets (hopefully) call in allies (like the Qorcuri), or rally to defeat Telman and his squadrons.

Things are looking grim for the Luwians these days ...

3) a Treasure "Rutter"

Those involved in the expedition that secured the Darkwing are said to have been told about a buried pirate treasure. They are chary about the details (wishing to keep the location secret still for themselves), but it is apparently a narrative "map" (a rutter, as it were) of how to reach the "hoard" of a "good haul" of around 15,000 dinars worth of goods hidden somewhere in the Denyan Islands. With the retreat of the Luwians from the Denyan Isles, the time to seize such a buried hoard seems as if it is fast approaching.

Halgerd Longlegs, Her Wares and Rumors

Close friends of Durham may recall certain snatches of conversation in which he wondered what happened to Halgerd Longlegs, and hoping for her safe return. Few among his barbarian friends are regulars at the Kantor Kabljauhof, and so they probably would not have heard her name when it was mentioned now and then in the Gatehouse pub--but now, as her cog sails into the harbor of Cothon from a jaunt west to the markets of Nous, her name is sounded in taverns around the city.

A part of the log; the hexes were the planned course, the x's the actual course, and records of wind direction, strength, and the decisions of the pilot in navigation

Taller than many men (hence her cognomen), with straight brown hair and long hands to match her height, the captain-owner of the Seeadler is difficult to miss in a crowd. Considered beautiful for a Hansefrau--not too fair, eyes dark and honest--she cuts a fine figure as she strides through the souk making sales or purchases. But her height is rumored to have intimidated away many would-be suitors.

Well, the Seeadler has returned to Cothon's port, and with it Halgerd has come seeking Durham to pay out his share of the money made by her venture. Word is, he invested 1000 dinars to help her buy a cargo destined for Nous, and now she returns to him 1850 dinars as his share from the profits! Not a bad return for such a short jaunt, not bad at all.

She sailed up to Nous, north past Ittiyqa, and then west along the coast to Nous, and then further west to Al Ragma in Nous' hinterlands. Her return was directly from Al Ragma to Cothon, but the recent bad weather delayed her ship in the Roads for a time before the winds came around and allowed her to sail into the harbor itself. Fortunately, that time allowed her to make the contacts she needed among the merchants in the harbor to make a good deal of money in the meantime, and now Durham has reaped his portion of the benefits.

But she has her own wares to sell, stored in her personal "liberty chests" on the Seeadler, to make a little on the side for herself. Her personal wares are thus described below:

[please comment on the blog or announce in "the taverns" of our server if you purchase anything from Halgerd, both for the Scribes' records, and for others to know what remains available]

Price	Item
15 gp ea.	7 vials of garum al fakr
5 gp/lb	14 pounds of reefstalk chitin
100 gp/oz	7 ounces of dreugh wax
1 gp/day	63 man-days worth of preserved biltong; nutritious and delicious!
1 gp/lb	12 pounds of Nousite salts from the salt flats of the desert
400 gp ea.	2 dreugh shells (a kind of chitin useful for armors)
10 gp ea.	3 atrox ivory fangs
50 gp ea.	3 scrimshawed atrox ivory daggers (ceremonial)
100 gp ea.	5 decorative stoles with traditional Nousite artwork
800 gp	a chlamis-cloak of traditional Nousite design
1200 gp	a  xyphos-type sword, blade etched as an elongated bathorn-terror-bird
500 gp	a hunting yeki (6 legged "giant weasel")
750 gp	a hunting-calot (10 legged "hound")
4000 gp	Faas al Sabag, a two-handed battleaxe of smokey obsidian, purportedly magical

Rumors (lots of politics below for those who are uninterested)

Having returned from Nous, Halgerd and her crew carry word of the goings-on in that western city.

One of the larger partner-cities in the League of Ten Cities, Nous is sometimes called the Souk of Arguments (Souk al Gidaal) because it is a center of intellectual and philosophical pursuits. Many natural philosophers teach there, and the great Library of Thymis holds innumerable and ancient works. Nous is also rumored to be the main seat of the secretive Druser cult, who are said by some to have strange and awesome mental powers.

Halgerd tells that Nous is currently in the midst of intense political activity, as the term of its current Souffet is about to end, coinciding with this month's end of the current lunar year. As such, two parties are engaged in a political fight to get their man elected into office--one party is upset with the general lackadaisical appearance of the the Souffets of Cothon-Gadeed in their approach to the Hanse's campaign against the Luwian pirates; the other supports non-action, preferring to keep out of the war, claiming that joining with the Hanse against the pirates would surely increase the duties paid by the cities to the treasury of the League--the treasury controlled by Gadeed.

The man of the "war-kynis" is Sikandar; the man of the "isolationists" is Nairan; and whichever of the two is elected as Souffet will certainly have quite an effect on the politics here in Cothon-Gadeed, because as noted above, Nous is among the larger cities of the League, and their Souffet traditionally has the ear of the magistrates of Gadeed.

Indeed, Halgerd tells that the Nousi claim that if Sikander is elected, that he will demand that Fadhlan and Khusra al Arasqiy (the Souffets of Cothon-Gadeed) be held to account for corruption and inaction at the end of their terms of office (at the end of the next lunar year).

The Seeadler also put in at Ittiyqa, about halfway between Cothon and Nous; a little closer to home, the Wazir of Ittiyqa usually follows pretty closely to the policy of the Souffets of Cothon-Gadeed; but Halgerd and her crew note that even there, people are upset that the Ten Cities aren't helping the Hanse in putting down the threat of the Luwians.

The pirates have plied the waters for so long, preying on unwary merchants--why shouldn't the Ten Cities help clear the waters? It would open easier trade to Misr in the east, and the lands beyond. And with the Hanse's recent successes [more on that soon, ~the Scribes], why should they get all the spoils of war, while the Decapolis is left out of the prizes of Luwian galleys and the mass sales of piratical prisoners to slavers?

Though these are only two of the other eight cities of the League beyond Cothon and Gadeed, nevertheless it seems to Halgerd, at least, that there is a great deal of unrest in the rest of the Decapolis, driven largely by Fadhlan's and Khusra's apparent inaction. What these politics may mean for the like of barbarians dwelling in Cothon is uncertain, of course ...

Session #62: The Recovery of Kzin-Friend

[written by Jacob, who ran this session into "the Facility" on 12 November; thanks, Jacob!]

Over the last couple of weeks Durham and Najm are seen discussing news from a recent expedition that there are humans that seem to be from Cothon-Gadeed somewhere within the Facility. Indeed during that expedition they even identified a former adventuring companion Kzin-Friend, but were unable to collect him. And so an expedition was put together with the intent to go and rescue Kzin-Friend from whatever predicament he had gotten into. Several others heard the call and joined in the expedition as well. The group that ultimately made their way along the long walk to Gadeed is as follows:

Durham (Fighter 7)

Pako (Renyu)

Althis (Magic User 5)

Crossbowman Jermo

Crossbowman Nona

Crossbowman Schaa

Gan ad-Din (Fighter 5)

Heijo (Magic User 5)

Najm (Magic User 5)

May (Fighter 1)

Some sketched notes by Althis, earning him 100 xp per level

When the party made their way back to the taverns they were abuzz with conversation, despite many appearing quite burned and bruised. But most notably, they had two new members, one Kzin Friend and Zero Zaid, returned from the Facility at long last. Though they both appeared slow, and walked only with the help of others, nevertheless the group made their way to a tavern to work through some of their notes and look over their new treasures.

The Lucre

• 5 Renyu armor sets

• 5 glowing yellow “gems” the party identifies as “batteries”

• A strange metal snake just larger than an open hand and coiled vertically identified to the party as a zat'nik'tel
  

• A strange green gem in the shape of a coffin
  

• A jagged metal sword with bone and hair for the hilt and wrappings, the sheath a tough leather.
  

• A single set of simple clothing (including boots) that at first glance seem unremarkable, being of plain greys and whites, with few frills. Until touched when it is immediately obvious these are made using techniques unavailable to modern clothiers. Identical to the previous set that somehow repels liquid. Though not magical, simply remarkable. (~1000gp)

• 500gp for the return of Cedric al Dawr, one of the early expeditionaries into the Facility who never returned. House al Dawr makes sure to note that they are very excited for whatever it may take to recover the other members of their expeditions, so that they might return to their families and duties.

The Learning

• 1000 xp from treasure

• 500 xp each for powering the Facility and the interactions therein

• 1600 xp for the small army of 18 Renyu Warriors slain (75+hp ea.)

• 1766 xp for the two Wraith slain (850+hp ea.)

The Cut (Kzin-friend and Zero Zaid are not included in this cut)

• 45 dinars to each player character
  23 dinars to May
  Further gold may come of this if the clothing is sold to the ‘right buyer’

• 863 xp to each player character
  682 xp to Pako and May

• The various special items

Per usual, any player reports are worth 100 xp per level, and the three items may increase treasure received based on being sold to the right buyer, or bought out from the treasure for their listed ‘base’ price.