Edon

Edon is the capital city, host to a number of ports, taverns, theaters, and temples, as well as the seat of the Empress Avita.  It's surrounded by a large alabaster wall punctuated by turrets that each have a different color focusing crystal in them, making the city a defensible fortress.

7-5-15 Recap

7/5 game

The heroes regrouped from their silver mine excursion in the dilapidated ghost town surrounding it.  Fladuk was mourned -- to a point -- and supplies were scavenged for.  The party rested in the mine with the doors shut, but soon detected Phase Spiders advancing on them.  The spiders were scared off, but everyone decided that perhaps they'd be safer sleeping outside of the cave.  Archibald and Fladuk's corpses were hidden or disposed of, though I can't recall how.

In the morning, the party headed Northeast to get away from the plateau.  In the distance, they noticed unseasonal snow clouds over the mountains.  Eventually, the adventurers arrived at a large field with three tall obelisks.  Around the bases of the towers were several badly decomposed bodies -- perhaps Archibald's party?  As they approached the obelisks, the day turned to night, and the stars in the sky were not those of the normal realm.  Each tower pointed to a specific star -- perhaps the three swirling stars of the cult?  Also, a ghost appeared.  These strange occurrences led the heroes to conclude that they had entered the strange nega/dark/dream/spirit realm that they had encountered in their initial mission to rescue Sebastian Cornfallow.

The ghost revealed himself to be Archibald's brother, Valentius.  The heroes explained Archibald's fate to Valentius, but took care to emphasize that he had died doing a noble deed -- aiding their escape -- and that Archibald's killer had met an unpleasant end.  Valentius told them something along the lines of, "You must stay the path; only a straight arrow can pierce the whatever," before vanishing in an awesome and spooky fashion.

The party continued on through the ghost world, eventually coming to a small deserted town in a dense forest (jungle?).  Suddenly, they were attached by a giant snake skeleton!  This animated creature, called a Bone Naga, was pretty gnarly but thoroughly outgunned, and we dispatched of it heroically.  Phobos snagged a bit of the bone powder it left behind.

Suddenly (I think?) the heroes found themselves back in an alley in Edon!!  They had been transported across space and dimension back to their world.  They were almost immediately set upon by a zombie, who was no match for their combat prowess.  Climbing onto the rooftops, they oriented themselves within the city, which was curiously empty.  Recalling a previous portent in one of Vincent's letters to Kao-Su that, "the infestation had taken hold in Edon," as well as the mysteriously dead horses in the fine stables, the party concluded that the town had probably been overrun by zombies.

They hopped across the rooftops, eventually arriving at the docks where there was a large crowd of people attempting to access boats to escape the city.  The city guard, called the Phalanx, were holding the crowds back.  Mr. Pug (I think?) read the name of a boat, and (Hubert or Phobos?) tried to convince the guard to let the pirate crew access "their" property.

I forget how we ended up jumping on the boat, but in the end, we were able to make our way off the island (much to the annoyance of the Phalanx guard, who I'm sure won't harbor any grudge) and are currently sailing back toward Bernard Beaucard's manor and the Ol' Kyle to get an explanation of WTF happened and let him know about our royal screwup (but also the information we gleaned)

6-28-15 Recap

The Most Dangerous Game: or The Inevitable Yet Totally Avoidable Death of Fladuk Redarm

We started where we had left off, with our heroes awakening in a large cage somewhere in the woods. Lord Vincent Beaucard and his men were standing nearby, looking like they were preparing for a hunt. He gave a small villain speech about how he knew who we were from the moment we met him and that we had been on his cousins ship. Despite some clever parlay from Phobos, Beaucard refused to divulge his entire evil plan "just because we're about to die."

Mr. Pug noticed that despite being stripped of armor, weapons, and gear, there was a rack in our cage with some junky old weapons and leather armor. Mr. Pug immediately grabbed a handaxe and threw it at Beaucard, who deftly caught it. Then Hubert cast a sleep spell... on the guy next to Beaucard... and Mr. Pug threw another axe... at Beaucard, which he caught. So Beaucard informed them that we would be hunted and he would give us a two or three minute head start. Then and his men howled and we were off.

We ran east, which was a direction found pretty much at random, until Lapu Lapu determined a river was nearby. We found the river and saw that it flowed from the north to the south, so we dove in a swam with the current down stream a ways, putting a nice bit of distance between us and our pursuers, hopefully also throwing them off our scent. Oh at some point during our initial burst of running away, Fladuk mentioned that Beaucard and his men were all werewolves, which kinda makes sense with all the howling.

After exiting the river, we continued east until we found a chasm with a rickety rope bridge spanning it. We all hurried accross it quickly and once we were safe on the other side, cut the ropes and let the bridge fall.  We took a moment to catch our breath and don our cheap leather armor, when we met a crazy old gnome named Archibald. We learned from him that we were now on an plateau which was also an island of sorts, mostly cut off from the surrounding area by the chasm. On the island was an old sealed up silver mine, which Beaucard was afraid of. Other than that Archibald wasn't very helpful and seemed content to be a crazy old hermit living in constant fear. We didn't like him.

We broke into the mine and started exploring it. Fladuk left to gather sticks for torches but also, it turns out, to murder Archinald so he wouldn't snitch on us. No one else in the party suggested he go do that. Certainly not. No oneelse thought it was a good idea to cover our bases and that the gnome seemed shifty and untrustworthy. And now, as events will reveal, there's no one left alive who can prove otherwise.

Eventually we discovered passage that opened up a bit to reveal a pit of lava with a floating, flaming skull, that seemed to be bound there. The skull warned us off and told us he was sworn to protect the cave and the silver within by one of Beaucards ancestors. We tried to reason with him and told him the person who made him swear the oath was dead and he was released but he said it didn't work that way. We asked him if he wanted to be released and he seemed open to the idea. However whole this was going on, Fladuk kept trying to attack the skull, with Mr. Pug going as far as physically holding him back from doing so. Eventually, Pug let him go because it seemed kind of futile. Fladuk did attack the skull, and while he did, everyone else ran into the room the flaming skull was guarding. It was full of silver weapons! Also, adamantine scale mail which Mr. Pug took.

Then we tried to run away but the flaming skull, sensing he was duped unleashed a fireball which reduced Fladuk, Lapu Lapu, and Hubert to less than zero hit points. Mr. Pug dragged Hubert and Lapu Lapu down a hallway to safety while Phobos was able to save himself. Fladuk was not so lucky however and the flaming skull completely incinerated his body. The rest of the party escaped the tunnels mostly intact, only of course to find Archibald corpse split in half waiting for them outside.

Session #7 06/07/15

Picking up from whence we last left off, our motley crew is en route to Chateau Boucard, Vincent's cliff-side manor in the Monteban province. We manage to make our way across a lowered drawbridge spanning a crevice while Vincent and Phobos remark on their respective wealth and standing while Mr. Pug embarrassingly tries to emulate them. Typhon dons his alabaster mask, remarking that he's been to plenty of "these types of parties before". Waiting for us in the opulent, velvet tapestry ensconced and mahogany scented foyer we enter into is one Reeves, Vincent's manservant and, as we'll discover later, vomit decontaminator. In the interim, Vincent demands he fetch some more wine for the party while Dartanian requests that afterwards he sanitizes the prostitutes they've brought along.

As Vincent leads everyone into an adjoining sitting room, Phobos takes in the decor to try and get a better feel for the man we're tasked on obtaining intel on. Dartanian, on the other hand, nicks a bejeweled candelabra. Both then join the group as drinks begin to get poured. Phobos sees an opportunity to further impress Msr. Boucard and mage hand mixes a drink, which Vincent tastes and finds satisfactory. Sensing a chance to distract our host in hopes one of us can sneak off, Mr. Pug elects to do a handstand and take a shot at the same time, a feat quite impressive considering his size. As he asks for attention, Dartanian takes note and steps quietly back into the hall. However Pug's performance has the opposite effect and actually makes Boucard a tad jealous at the display of agility instead. Pug awkwardly notices the party foul and excuses himself to use the restroom and joins Dartanian in the hallway.

Alone, the pair begin to ascend a stairway to the second floor but a mixture of Pug's heavy footsteps and Pug's chain mail armor and Pug just generally screwing things up like a medieval Urkel draws Reeves' attention. He tells us that the west wing is closed and that we're not supposed to be going up there. Feigning ignorance, we reluctantly walk back down. But, alas, Pug makes amends, throwing his arm over Reeves' shoulder and engaging him in what was surely some Sorkin-esque reporté in order to divert Reeves' attention to allow Dartanian to resume his sneakiness. Dartanian Mathias Xavier tiptoes back up the stairs and, to the immediate right on the second floor of the manse, finds a large wooden door with a lock slung across the handles. He quickly picks it with his thieves tools and is greeted by a long hallway with sconces on either side. As he makes his way down, he begins to gently turn and pull and press each sconce under the impression that one might lead to a secret passage, as wall-mounted sconces are wont to do. Instead he finds that as he moves down, the sconces further on suddenly appear to have already been pulled. How curious.

Meanwhile, the after party appears to be winding down as Vincent stands to depart back to his chamber for a nightcap/hooker sex. Phobos wisely attempts to keep the revelry going and insists Msr. Boucard have one more drink. Typhon ups the ante and breaks out the gooooood stuff: a bottle of Monteban liquor. Typhon passes around the bottle and they each tip theirs back. Phobos is a tad concerned he might not be able to handle the hard stuff and uses a little spell to toughen his constitution. He and everyone else seems to stomach the booze okay but sadly the side effect of Phobos' spell comes back to bite him as a third eye suddenly sprouts from his forehead. Vincent is luckily deep in his cups at this point and assumes he's just getting some mead goggles and pretty much ignores it and begins to finally make his way to bed. Everyone pleads with him to stay but he's had his fill and heads off to hit the hay. Reeves starts to follow his master but Phobos and Typhon and Pug try to pump him for information instead. But he's a stubborn, honor bound butler and similarly begins to walk off. In a moment of quick, if perhaps ill advised, thinking, Typhon vomits. This has 2 consequences: firstly, Reeves must now grab some club soda and a rag to scrub up said vomit. That's good! Secondly, Typhon is still wearing his sex mask and, thusly, is doused by his own ricochet. That's bad.

As the sickness spills out on the floor below, Dartanian is still trying to traverse the hallway he unlocked upstairs. The further he moves down the hallway, the further he seems to end up from the end of it. Suddenly there's a slight rumble and a fireball appears at the end of the hallway. He hugs the wall and dodges it and watches it go by... only to disappear and suddenly appear at the end of the hallway again, coming towards him a second time! WHAT IS THIS SORCERY?!?

With Reeves preoccupied cleaning and Vincent back in his bed chambers, Phobos and Pug turn to the comely escorts we brought along to pry info out of. Pug finds than even when all he wants is conversation, these ladies still demand top coin. After dishing out a few dozen gold pieces, one of the ladies of the night tells of a disturbing hunting tale she heard about Vincent wherein he likes to intentionally maim animals because he enjoys their suffering and then likes to get up close and personal for the final kill. Pug wants more but her greediness and rudeness finally gets the better of the old sailor, who accuses her of many unsavory things, not least of which is cod swalloping. Phobos discovers similar accusations from his escort. He asks about secret places she might know about and ho boy she shows him one alright! HEYO!

Pug finally remarks that Dartanian has been gone a suspiciously long time at this point. They all sneak off and come upstairs to see Dartanian stuck in the hallway with this perpetual fireball going back and forth. Pug tosses a length of rope into the hallway but as he pulls it in, it snaps and the end comes out at the back of the hallway BECAUSE PORTAL. He then realizes, as the fireball disappears from right in front of them again, that the heat can only be felt along the side, not the middle. Therefore all stupid Dartanian needs to do is hug the wall and strafe along it and viola! You're free dummy! Turns out there's some runes and stuff on the floor Dartanian missed on his way in that activated all this magical mumbo jumbo. Now that it's all been spotted and noted, they move along after the fireball fizzles out.

The hallway eventually curves and leads to a room. A dark room. A dark room lit by a single blue flame. A dark room lit by a single blue flame whose darkness seems to magically swallow any other light from any other source. Only the blue flame illuminates anything. Spotting some unlit braziers, Dartanian breaks out one of his candles and lights it up... like a candle... from the blue flame, then goes around to the other braziers and lights them. With the room now nearly fully illuminated, the party see there's a firepit in the center of the room. Lastly, Dartanian lights that up to and the flames flare up brightly, briefly blinding the group. As they regain their vision, it appears that the room has transformed, or they otherwise teleported. The pillars have morphed into strange humanoid figures and hieroglyphics, much like those from the water temple we fought the gibbering mouther.

But we don't have a ton of time to take in the scenery as we hear a strange growl behind us and turn to see a giant eye with eye tentacles. Mufukin spectator yo. But despite the copious consumption of alcohol, we're all on point and toast that creepy looking dickcheese without anyone taking a scratch. So now we investigate things further and come across a few interesting tidbits, like a letter from Vincent to General Howsu stating "The infestation has taken hold and Edon is ripe for the picking." Hm... could that have something to do with the dead horses we saw in the stables? Maybe that won't be another unsolved mystery that goes down in history. But as a whole the room looks like a Tiefling sacrificial chamber although the writing scattered about is completely unrecognizable to any of us. There was also a book, I think, possibly a diary, noting that Eldath are being picked off by the black haired woman. There's also a totem littered with more writing and while we still don't recognize it, Typhon smartly grabs some paper and ink and a quill and places the paper flat against the totem and just scratches the quill across to highlight the inscriptions, a la Indiana Jones. Phobos then realizes he has seen those inscriptions before and pulls out an old diary he's been carrying with him, although he's unsure of the connection.

Content we've covered every inch of this extra dimensional room, we douse the flames of the firepit hoping that that should transport us back to Boucard's. Unfortunately it does, but we find ourselves back into the room we initially transported from but now in the midst of some noxious smokey fumes. The door is closed and with his last gasp Typhon heaves a battering spell and blows the door apart, along with a pair of Boucard's guards behind it. But behind them are another dozen guards and Boucard himself, with Reeves by his side. Pug and Phobos then succumb to the smoke as well and fall to the floor. Seeing a window and an opportunity to try and make a last ditch escape, Dartanian holds his breath, grabs the candelabra out of his bag and motions to throw it through the window... but sees his new comrades all out for the count and elects to join them in whatever fate destiny has set for them, and simply remarks "Oh how did this thing get in here?" and drops the candelabra as he also falls to the floor. As they slip out of consciousness, the last thing they hear Boucard say is "Reeves, please tell Lebianne that I'll be taking care of them."

 

-Dartanian

Session #6 5/31/15

When last we left our heroes, they were in the company of Caldwell, at his estate. We were discussing the vision that depicted three men coming out of a cave, one portly man of fine design (who we later found out was Lord Montebon), a tall figure wearing black, and a third, whose description escapes me. We were given the option to pursue any of the three, but since our new companion, Dartaneyen, was familiar with the Montebon family, we chose that route.

We soon realized that there was no way to access the city via the sea, making it a very strategic location. Instead, we would need to approach via land, making our way through the ____ Forest, famous for its ____ wood, which is fire-hardened and made the empire rich during war times. We made our way for a day, where we set up camp. During second watch, we were surprised by an attack by 3 direwolfs and 1 werewolf, which after a few rounds we disposed of.

At the end of another day of travel, we happened upon an inn, which we stayed at to gain some information about the lord we were about to encounter. We learned that, amongst other things, he was a lush and enjoyed other raucous behavior.

When we finally made it to the capitol of the Montebon lands, we used the deception of traveling merchants, interested in buying ____ wood for our ship building business, to get by the guards. After some discussion, we chose to go to a tavern and learn a bit more about the town and the lord. As luck would have it, we happened upon Lord Montebon, enjoying his most carnal of desires, surrounded by 8-10s and wine, with the peripheral 7 trying to wiggle her way in. While Fladuk chatted up a local with Dartaneyen looking on, the rest of the group approached Lord Montebon.

After some flattery and drinking contests.....

That's all I remember. I was discussing my exit with Brad via text and wasn't paying full attention to the rest of the game. - Ted

Full Size Map

Session #5 05/24/15

Lebienne awoke with a start, her eyes glowing red and her hands immediately wrapping around Lapu Lapu's neck. However, as quickly as it began, it was over, and she returned to her normal self before the party had time to strike out with their weapons. When asked how she had recovered from the mouther so miraculously, she gave a vague, non-commital, surely evil answer. Phobos gives the order to cast "Detect Good and Evil" as soon as possible.

The ghostly woman appeared again -- the same one from the Sebastian rescue mission, and earlier in the temple -- telling us that we would never take the temple, or uncover its secrets. She disappeared!

The ground began shaking, and water began rushing into the room. Typhon was able to blast apart the heavy stone doors with a thunderclap spell, and we squeezed through the narrow opening. In the hallway, we came to a stairwell, but lacking the time and means to dive and explore the now-flooded lower levels of the temple, we opted for not drowning, and took the stairs up to the surface.

 

Back at the port, civilians of Madden rushed to the dock of the Ol' Kyle, crying out for refuge from their rapidly sinking island. Taking pity on them, Mr. Pug allowed as many onboard as he could; about 40 or 50. They were allowed to stay on the condition that they remained calm. Fladuk eagerly scanned the crowd for any who weren't, and would thus be fair game to throw overboard.

 

As the dungeoneers made it to the surface, the temple disappeared into the sinkhole, and the rest of the island seemed to be following suit. Typhon drew the conch shell given to us by Ol' Tiberius, and summoned the rafting druid, who lamented the loss of his finest poophole, but rescued the group anyway. The island now nearly entirely submerged beneath the waves, Tiberius navigated his raft to reconnoiter with the Ol' Kyle, where we boarded our ship.

 

We elected to head back to Caldwell (aka Mattias) with the refugees and what information we'd gathered. During the voyage, a female gnome took sick. In an effort to swiftly prevent infection, Fladuk picked her up to toss her overboard. Mr. Pug drew his sword on Fladuk, saying that only the Captain had the authority to throw anyone overboard. Phobos reminded everyone that he was totally the captain, and that they had totally unanimously agreed on it at some point in the past that definitely happened.

While these negotiations where underway, the gnome sprouted nasty fungal growths from her head. Lapu Lapu stabbed the gnome, and Fladuk threw her overboard. The party then fell into a debate about how to deal with an infection, and who exactly was captain, anyway, when a mushroom monster jellyfish was spotted climbing up the side of the ship.

Battle was then met, against a large psychic jellyfish monster and some of its minions. Fladuk was nearly killed in melee combat, and any contact with them resulted in psychic visions of death. Phobos opted to stand back at a safe distance and lob magic missiles at the big one. It should be noted that we might be advised, in future battles, to concentrate on one target at a time. Phobos landed a killing blow, and the jellyfish exploded into truffle oil.

However, during the fight, one of the jellyfish-mushroom-spores infected Mr. Pug! Pug had visions of a peaceful field, but, knowing that his mind and body were no longer his own, attempted to throw himself overboard! Another jellyfish floated out of the water, caught Pug in its tentacles, and dropped him safely back on deck. Not wanting to join these slimy sea denizens, Pug then attempted to commit seppuku with his cutlass.

The jellyfish explained, as best it could in psychic images and visions, that it meant no harm to Pug or us. They had been a coastal colony on the island, and escaped its sinking by clinging to the bottom of the Ol' Kyle. Starving, a rogue member of their group had infected the gnome woman, and it and its band of renegades attacked us. The remaining jellyfish men were simply refugees as well, same as the dwarves and gnomes of Madden.

As an act of good faith, they provided us with some information about previous visitors to the island: three sailors, a Wei-Shen male with a long, thin beard; a Tiefling of Hajar; and a Lothair man bearing a striking resemblance to Bernard Beaucard. On their shoulders was the same symbol we had seen on the cultists' robes: three swirling stars. In exchange for this information, the jellyfish claimed another, already infected dwarf, for further dining. The ethical implications of this are...troubling.

 

The jellyfish men back in the water, Lebienne revealed herself to, in fact, be evil!

"Hey," said Phobos, "Why didn't we cast 'Detect Good and Evil' like I suggested?"

"Well," explained Typhon, "I don't actually have that spell. I just said I would do it, because I have an intelligence of 7."

Lebienne calls out in an ethereal voice, "You fools have been a bother long enough! Now, I turn my full attention to you!" Phobos facepalmed. Lebienne jumped overboard, or something, surely to never be seen again.

 

Finally, we made it back to Edon and paid Caldwell a visit. We filled him in on the happenings, and he was able to identify the aforementioned We-Shen as Kao-Su, a nasty war criminal. We suspected the Lothair human to be Vincent Beaucard, cousin of Bernard's, who we'd read about in a stolen letter. Caldwell wasn't aware of the cult's name, but he suspects it is related to the cause of the war and how various sides were able to gain new technology and drag the war on longer. Uncovering these truths is the purpose of our missions. As a reward, we were paid 100gp each, and given a Cloak of Displacement.

 

What missions will Caldwell send us on next? Who will get to wear that sweet cloak? Why didn't Typhon cast Detect Good and Evil? Some of these questions will be answered, some will be simply met with facepalms. Until next week! Eat oranges to prevent scurvy.

Session #4 5/17/15

Having defeated a small army of frog-men (a group of frogs is fittingly called an army), our crew decided to visit the local tavern. Since it was the only tavern in a small town of mudders, we were clearly outsiders and got some funny looks, but Hubert broke the ice by performing his hit single, "Halfling." The gnomes were instant Hube-lievers and cheered, while the dwarves just grumbled a bit. Typhon played a dice game with the locals and learned that the frog-men had been appearing in the swamp recently and taking some of their people.

Since there was still about a half-day's light remaining and we could see the rival ship approaching, we set into the swamp in search of the source of the frog-men and whatever other evils were invading the area. Eventually we came to a swamp-river that was too wide to cross on foot, but we found a raft and a gnome named Old Tiberius sleeping on it. Old Tiberius seemed to be a few cards short of a full deck from breathing in swamp gas over the years, but he had the raft and knew the area well. He agreed to take the group up river in exchange for Lapu-Lapu's gem trinket (it appeared to everyone else as a simple black rock, no one understood why Lapu-Lapu didn't want to part with it) which Tiberius stuck into the socket of his missing eye.

After a while we encountered some aggressive (and likely non-native) swamp flora on the river - plants called "screamers" that let out a nasty whine when hit with fire, and pods with tentacles that spit poisonous spores. We were able to take them down in part thanks to a very nice ricocheting knife throw by Lebienne and some magical taunts by Hubert that made one of the pods remember its days of being bullied in high school. At one point Phobos flubbed one of his fireball shots and lit a corner of the raft on fire; fortunately he also had the ability to manipulate water and just quickly doused it with river water.

Old Tiberius eventually dropped us off back on land and as we went further into the swamp we discovered an ancient stone ziggurat pyramid. Lebienne scouted and saw a bigger army of frog-men in front of it in some kind of prayer ceremony. There were some feathered creatures patrolling the area, but Lebienne learned their movement pattern and the group snuck past them into the pyramid.

We went down a long narrow hallway and reached a large circular temple room. Lapu-Lapu started toward a plate of jewels but stepped on a floor trigger - this caused a giant Indiana-Jones-style boulder to seal the entrance we came through, and poisonous gas started seeping into the room. Phobos grabbed a spear from one of the two stone statues in the room and determined that these spears could be inserted into the stone altar in the center of the room to create a sort of donkey wheel. Phobos and Lapu Lapu started turning the wheel which slowed the poison gas and spun an entire outer floor ring of the room. Lebienne then spied a newly revealed lever (on her way to the plate of gems) which stopped the gas completely.

The group kept shifting the room until a door opened again, but behind it was the same ghostly pale woman with dark hair that we saw floating over the ship in our first adventure. She muttered something about us being shepherds futilely attempting to protect some flock, and then she opened a pit in the middle of the room that was filled with fire. Out of it she summoned a Gibbering Mouther - an abomination of hundreds of mouths with nasty teeth screaming horror and obscenities.

Lebienne was closest to the pale woman, who she tried to stab but only hit air. She then took on the mouther but was tragically swallowed whole by it.

The battle with the mouther was fierce; its screams could affect enemies psychologically. Lapu Lapu was blinded and petrified because the mouther convinced him they were also under attack by the green dragon that terrorized his homeland. Hubert gave us a powerful attack-advantage against it by casting a spell (Faerie Fire? I'm noting this because it seems essential against large enemies). Finally after weakening it with fire and arrows, Typhon invoked a powerful thunder-wave and silenced the mouther for good.

Lebienne's lifeless corpse was spit out when the monstrosity died. Lapu Lapu thought she would appreciate the gesture of taking her loot, even though she was covered in mouther remains. When he started searching her body however, her eyes opened, glowing red, and she grabbed his throat...

Session #3 - 5/10/15

When we last left our intrepid adventurer's they had captured a slave ship from those evil tieflings, and were in the process of questioning the slaves.  The leader of the slaves was a druid of some sort, who suggested an island that they could be brought too that would be safe for them and less likely to get us in trouble.  We tried to tame Fladuk so that we could move the slaves over to our ship, but his bloodlust still drove him, and as we brought the slaves up on deck he set upon their leader and challenged him to battle.
Typhon climbed into the crows nest of the Old Kyle to scan the horizon for approaching ships, so that their ruse would not be discovered, but instead of ships, noticed 2 large black shadows circling the boats.  As Fladuk showed signs of brandishing steal 2 large octopi came to the aid of the Wai Shen druid.  From the watery depths they reached up and entangled Fladuk, banging him around on deck and quickly rendering him unconscious.  It was not his proudest hour.  
We ushered everyone onto the Old Kyle and set a black powder charge on the slave ship, watching it blow up in the distance as we sailed away.  
We dumped the slaves off on their island oasis near their homeland and were told that we always had friends there.
Then we decided it was time to return to Caldwell for payment of the job that we totally did exactly how he wanted.  There was a strange small warship pulled up to his dock when we approached and Mr Pug gave a groundskeeper a fortune to tell us where Caldwell was.  We went up to the villa and into a fancy marble columned room, to find Caldwell meeting with the party from the other boat.  There was a fine lady being fanned in a corner, which we never got real clear on the identity of.  The party consisted of a woman, a man in black armor, and a man with lots of tatoos, i believe.  Apparently they had taken the chariot race job.  
Caldwell was now giving us both the job of finding out some information about why the evil, shadow society(probably the guys we fought first session) would want to attack a small island nearby.  Caldwell also started bragging about how he wasnt actually named caldwell, but was the powerful right hand man of the local king during the great war.  He was well known enough that everyone gasped, and depending on  your country of origin had strong reverence or dislike for him.  
So we started our cannonball run with the other ship's crew.  they calmly walked to their ship as we sprinted to ours, jeering at them and casting spells on their ship to impeded their progress.  They were really quite civil...  I'm not sure we are the good guys.  
Anyway, we made it to the island, Typhon jumped up on the dock and went to talk to the dock master of this small town.  Before he could make it a frog person lept from the water, over the dock, tried to catch typhon in a net a plopped down on the other side.  A total of 3 frog people showed up around the dock and we met them with steel and spell.  Mr Pug made a dramatic show and left into the water, slaying one, but getting himself killed in the process.  We vanquished the rest, retrieved the drowning corpse of mr pug and met with the dockkeeper.  he told us that the frogs had grown more belligerent and more bold recently since they had been visited by some men in black.  

WeiShen

The WeiShen land is as vast and varied as any.  In the west are lush forests where the Gods are said to have first communed with the WeiShen, sending them east across the plains and mountains to maintain Harmony across the world.  The Gods instilled a strong value in the sanctity of life, and spoke of spiritual essence being handed down from one generation to the next.  Over time, the lessons evolved from Harmony to pride and honor in one's family.  The WeiShen set-up clans to protect prominent family lineages, and often employed eunuchs since they posed no threat to their own dynasty.

Religion still holds a major role in the average citizens life, but the higher positions tend to be both political and spiritual.  Commonly, clans pledge themselves to a specific God, and appoint favored eunuchs to lead a temple dedicated to them.

The Lothaire and Hajar thought the divided WeiShen would be easy to overcome, but the clans put aside their differences and created a war council to fight the heathens.  After the truce, the council disbanded and the clans returned home to rebuild.

Races:

Elf
Half-Elf

Hajar

The Hajar nation is not for the faint of heart;  Desert landscapes, rough seas, and a dispersed government leaves the law of the land up to the strong.  Tieflings have predominately held the highest seats of power, ruling over the dwarves and gnomes with little regard for their well-being.  Slavery plays an important role in the Hajar economy, and while there are no laws explicitly stating what races can own slaves, it's rare to see anything but the Tieflings mastering over the others.

Because of their lack of natural resources, the Hajar nation has turned to raiding and innovation to further their own cause.  During the war, the Hajar were on the brink of defeat when the invention of the cannon turned the tides in their favor until the truce.

The Hajar nation has been ruled by a council of twelve for as long as any history books have recorded.  Once elected, each member serves on the council for the rest of their lives.  While some of the members are public figures who rule openly, others keep their identity hidden and rule from the shadows of anonymity.   Rumors of a newly appointed dwarven council member spread through the Hajar nation after the end of the war, but no one has been able to confirm his or her existence yet.

Races:

Tieflings
Dwarves
Gnomes

Lothaire

The Lothaire Empire formed some 80 years ago when the Emperor Thezar conquered the kingdoms through diplomacy, espionage, and military strength.  Each king was allowed to still rule their own territory and set laws, but all paid tribute to the Emperor, who in turn ensured the kingdoms were protected.  When a famine struck years later, Thezar ordered those with excess food to share across their borders.  When Hajar slavers raided the southern shore, he sent the Troll Walkers from the north to show them the true nature of raiding.

During the War of the Three Lands, the Empire managed to remain relatively intact despite their forces spread thin as the war waged on.  Only one nation, the Troll Walkers, managed a successful rebellion and remain independent.

The Lothaire Empire is now ruled by Empress Avita, who sits upon her throne in the Capital city of Edon.

Common Races:

Human
Half-Orc (Troll Walkers)
Halflings

Captain's Log - 5/3/15

Session #2

Assembled at Caldwell's manor, he gave us the option of two quests: entering, winning, and claiming the prize of a chariot race in Hadjar; or scuttling a ship from which he had had a valuable prisoner extracted.  After some prying, Caldwell revealed that the ship in question was a slave ship.  There was some internal debate, and it was decided that we would "scuttle" the slave ship, but in fact liberate its enslaved captors (likely elves from Wei-Shen) and turn the boat over to them, exchanging their silence for freedom.  Let the recap state that Phobos thought this seemed unwise, as word of our failure to sink the ship and the ship's very presence could very well come back to bit us in the ass.

While discussing these matters on the pier, Phobos made a comment about "shorties," an apparently out-of-fashion term for dwarves, who are used as chariot drivers in Hadjar.  Attempting some shred of retribution, Typhon attempted to shove him off the the pier into the water.  However, Phobos' noble grace (and retardedly high dexterity) instead resulted in Typhon himself falling off the pier, and into the boat of one Mr. Pug, an experienced first mate.  It became clear that the party -- while ambitious -- would have need to Mr. Pug's nautical expertise in their future endeavors.

Fladuk the half-orc staying behind to watch the ship, the rest of us made our way into town seeking gunpowder and common disguises to give to the slaves.  While still debating the ethics of our plan, a gnomish tailor's suspicion was aroused, though he was quickly convinced by Phobos that the discussion was merely hypothetical.  We purchased the clothes and some other minor provisions.

We set sail along the known course of the slaver ship, and came across it after several days.  We quickly overtook it, Mr. Pug aligning us to fire our cannons upon its deck.  Five slavers raced to the deck, and Typhon and [ahh fuck what is Jon's character's name?  I am in Vegas with no notes/character sheet] threw grappling hooks and began the boarding action.  While most of the party engaged in melee combat on the enemy ship, Phobos stayed back on the Ol' Kyle and assaulted them with firebolts and magic missiles.

The battle soon one, the party headed below deck, where they encountered roughly thirty slaves.  Of particular interest was a druid, whose hands had been chained and mouth gagged so as to prevent him from casting any spells.  We liberated him, learning that (IIRC) the slaves mostly came from the far west of Wei-Shen.  

What secrets does this mysterious druid know?  What will the crew of the Ol' Kyle do with the slaves and cargo?  Where will their travels take them next?  Find out Sunday, on an all-new Tales of the Three Seas!!!

Captain's Log - 13th Year from the war of the Three Lands

Our adventurer’s began when they were contacted by an individual named Caldwell.  He was secretive about the specifics, but he was paying well for the retrieval of a man named Sebastian Cornfallow, who was last seen on an island named ‘Slaver’s Respite’.  Caldwell chartered a ship named ‘the flying sparrow’, captained by Bernard Boucard.  The Flying Sparrow went from port to port, picking up each of the adventurers; 

Phobos Darkwater

Typhon Strongtide

Hubert Thistledown

Lebianne Caskale

Fladuk Redarm

Lapu Lapu

            After introductions (and Lebianne pick-pocketing a letter from Bernard), they arrived at Slaver’s Respite.  True to it’s name, the island was a hive of scum and villainy; pirates and degenerates were drinking, fighting, whoring and passed out on every part of town.  The team went to the harbormaster, who after a stunning rap by Hubert was so charmed he spilled the secrets about Sebastian Cornfallow.  Sebastian was a pirate who was locked up on charges of suspected mutiny of his crewmates after they had completed a successful raid, stashing the treasure for himself.  The ‘Governor’ of the island was a man named Esteban Flores, who had captured Sebastian and was threatening him with hanging unless he led him to the loot.  The crew scoped out the jail, but a catcall from the balcony of the whorehouse‘The Gleaming Rose.’ 

Phobos made a beeline for the front door, and was greeted by the owner, ‘Big Helga’.  Big Helga was a tall female dwarf (2/10, even without a beard) and built like any pirate on the island.  She immediately ushered Phobos into the noble suite with not one, but two tieflings.  Lebianne saddled up to a kindred spirit in Big Helga, and began asking her about the state of affairs on the island.  While they were talking, Hubert played a song for the whorehosue “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”  Even though it was a strong performance, the song was met with scattered applause, as well as a few awkward glances.  Phobos returned, paying 50g for the services, and the group met in a corner booth of the house.  After conferring on the matter, Hubert cornered a whore named ‘Jeanine’, and bluffed by telling her he knew what they were up to in the house.  He pressed her for her real name, which turned out to be Diamond, and she spilled that she was being paid by Big Helga for any information on the Esteban Flores. 

The group decided the best course of action was to rat out The Gleaming Rose for an opportunity to get close to Sebastian.  They met Esteban at his villa, and after a few tense moments he agreed to let the adventurers speak to Sebastian for 5 minutes in exchange for the information on Diamond.  He sent two of his guards to pick up Diamond, and two guards to escort the group to the jail. 

The group passed the two guards station outside the jail, and once inside Phobos and Hubert casted sleep spells on the guards, leaving only one awake.  Typhon and Fladik made quick work of the last guard, and the group slit the throats of the sleeping guards.  They called in the guards from outside, and blasted them out into the streets with fireballs and arrows.  Lebianne unlocked a grateful Sebastian, and they spent 5 minutes disguising him in a guard outfit to sneak him out.  While he was dressing, the group heard commotion out in the street, and saw a brawl was spilling out into the streets from The Gleaming Rose.  The group ran back to the ship, but not before Big Helga saw them escaping to the boat.

Once aboard, they questioned Sebastian, who revealed that he didn’t mutineer against his crew.  A few weeks ago his best mate fell ill, and something terrible happened to the rest of the crew on his ship that he refused to speak about.  The ship crashed on the shore of an island, and he used one of the skiffs to make it back to Slaver’s Respite.  Upon refusal to return to the island, he was imprisoned by Esteban Flores until the group rescued him.  Hubert made him mark where the island was on the map, and the group went to sleep in their private cabin.

In the middle of the night Phobos was awoken by a man draped in ornate leather armor with symbols carved into it.  He held a struggling Sebastian tight with a knife close to Sebastian’s neck when Phobos used a spell to pull the rug out from underneath them.  Fladik was standing guard outside, rushed in, and threw a spear at the cultist but hit Sebastian square in the stomach instead.  The cultist spoke the cryptic words “I tear at a thread, that the veil may drop” before plunging his knife into Sebastian’s neck, bringing him close to the brink of death.  The group finished off the cultist, but heard the sounds of the alarm bell ringing and the crew screaming outside their quarters.  Typhon, upon hearing the screams, locked their door and healed Sebastian while waiting for the screams to subside. 

The group eventually ventured out, and saw blood streaks sprayed across the wooden walls of the hull, but no bodies.  They moved above deck, and saw that the ship was surrounded by green fog sitting atop a sea of glass on all sides.  On the bow of the ship sat a strikingly beautiful woman with long black hair and pale sin, who gave them a devilish smile before diving into the waters below.  From where she jumped off the ship erupted an enormous monstrosity of flesh and bones, swirling unnaturally together to form a humanoid shape.  Upon closer inspection, the monster was composed of the corpses of the dead crew, and began attacking the ship by ripping off pieces of itself and throwing it at the deck.  The hunks of flesh animated into zombies that attacked the group, before battling them back and eventually felling the beast with the spear soaked in Sebastians blood.

The group made their way back to Caldwell’s mansion, who thanked them for bringing Sebastian back, and paid them the agreed upon amount.  After hearing their tale, he laid the situation out bluntly for them;  Bernard was cousin to Vincent Boucard, the head of one of the most powerful families in Lothaire.  The fact that they returned would not have gone unnoticed, and while Caldwell seemed quick to believe the group about the attack on the ship most others would doubt their tale and assumed they killed Bernard in a mutiny.  Caldwell could help clear their name, but it would take time.  Meanwhile, he had use of adventurers with their particular set of skills who could operate outside of the law.  Caldwell motivated them with money, power, and in time, knowledge about the secret turnings of the world they had just captured a glimpse of. 

Their adventure ended with Lebianne pick-pocketing Caldwell for some extra cash.  What a bitch.