Ptolus:Kekitat
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Kekitat
Details
Character Name: Kekitat
Class: Warrior 6
Ability Scores: Str: 5 Dex: 3 Con: 0 Int: 0 Wis: 2 Cha: 0
Defense (Dodge/Parry): 18/20(21-22)
Saving Throw: Toughness: 10 Fortitude: 6 Reflex: 6 Will: 5
Skills: Climb 6 , Concentration 3 , Craft-Weaponsmith 1 , Intimidate 8 , Jump 6 , Knowledge Local 3 , Knowledge Religion 2 , Notice 13 , Stealth 13 , Survival 9
Natural Bonuses: +2 to Notice and Survival , +1 to init for 18July MVP
Core Ability: Determination
Feats: Dark and Night Vision , Talented (Notice, Survival) , Weapon Training , Armor Training , Improved Critical , Attack Focus and Greater Attack Focus , Attack Specialization , Stunning Attack , Two Weapon Fighting , Two Weapon Defense , Toughness , Tracking , Diehard
Background
Kekitat's parents were known throughout Kartare as being some of the best weapons handlers around. Their being Litorians, however, strongly discouraged most customers but business was strong enough to survive. Kekitat's upbringing was not too different. He felt continually isolated and alienated by a mainly human populce who were not familiar with his kind. He found himself having to constantly proove himself to levels way beyond what any of the humans had to do. Fortunately, he was more physically adept than most every human so exceled enough to pass through the trials mostly safely.
In his late teens, he earned even more respect by doing some over-the-top event which made a core group of life-long friends revere him. They signed up for his family's school and they spent much of their free time together. Over the years that passed, each one went on to become rather skilled and adept at their own fields. Kekitat was known as the 'happy cat', a name he tolerated with a snicker, and was known for working hard helping his family run the weapons training school, and during the night being a very well-welcomed patron at any pub since his formidable size and pleasant demeaner put all customers at ease.
In his late 20s, his parents began to retire, too old to do much training themselves any more. Kekitat was one instructor, teaching introductory scimitar courses. The many nights he spent in the pubs drew in a fair bit of business so his parents were able to retire quite comfortably despite being relatively young. They took over the book-keeping practices and oversaw some of the advanced courses and correcting as needed.
One student who amazed everyone was Neena, a human who was just a few years his elder. She quickly passed by Kekitat even, though it seemed to be her only job and hobby was studying the new sword. Not only was she rising through the ranks, but she was adored by all those that attended. Men tried to impress her with their own abilities but she'd always beat them in a direct fight. After getting soundly beaten, she accepted drinks in the pubs after hours. This is where she recognized Kekitat and was brave enough to ask him out.
The populace was shocked at first, a Litorian and a human, but both were so well loved that all their friends celebrated their romance. In under a year, they were married. The next couple of years that passed took the school to new levels. Students rolled in and the local guard signed on for training as well. Crime plummeted and festivals were nearly nightly. Pub business soared. All was perfect.
Untill Neena disappeared one night.
Kekitat only managed to cry out that he'd be seeking her kidnappers before he too disappeared out the city's gates. Months passed. Crime slowly returned, but that was less a concern than how empty all pubs felt when missing both Kekitat and Neena.
Some months later, Kekitat returned, but lacking all his enthusiasm and joy for life he had before. His core friends tried to cheer him up but seemed to make no progress at all. The school had been taken back over by his parents again and they remained working though it was a struggle for them to endure.
A few more months passed and one day Kekitat's mood greatly improved. He returned back to his spot in the school which encouraged some of the students to come back as well. His return to the pubs drew back the business over the time that followed. It wasn't the same, but it was still a pleasant return. The second pint Kekitat always had at his table, in Neena's name, was often bought for him.
More time passed and Kekitat made an announcement that startled the entire community; He was heading to Ptolus to join the church of Lothian.
EPISODE 1
The travels were easy. I had hardly left home when I caught up with a trader who was happy to have me join him for the journey so I was able to ride the entire distance. My dreams never abated and those individuals seemed like companions already, but it was quite surprising to actually find them before I even entered the city!
I had just arrived and was hit by the scents of new meats cooked in ways I'd never heard of. I was trying a few when the strange gnome found ME. Turns out they all have had the same dreams. In fact, we were all at the South gate at the same time, all having arrived within the same moments. Destiny, it seems. I came to serve Lothian but it seems these individuals I've dreamt of since joining the Order must be tied to my goals.
The strange lizard creature was to be found inside. He has the aura of evil about him and I'm left wondering if he's the cause for our dreams in all reality. I will have to ask the church if they know of him some day. For now, the rest of the group seems pure in their intentions.
I had headed directly to the Temple of St Gustaf where I met Brother Fabitor. When I asked what I might do for the Church he had told me of Phon Quartermain. He believed her bearing a child that was important to the world. I had returned in the evening, per her request, to her workplace to find her being roughed up by two Pale Dogs (black fingernails and figure 8 ring around index and middle finger). I gave them a chance to surrender before I saw that they wanted to fight. I've fought far stronger opponents and never took such a beating in my life. They only hit me twice but I thought I'd have had broken bones from how much it hurt. I was forced to strike them a couple times each to show them I meant to ensure the lady's safety before they surrendered. They gave me the note they'd been given and the name of the person who hired them, Daful. The note said to return to the 'red warehouse on Able Row 2h after dusk' the next day. So I would be inclined to take their place and discover who would harm an innocent, but Brother Fabitor has her protected now and has warned me against it, saying the persons we're dealing with are likely too powerful for us.
The rest of the party seems to be focused on earning gold. I will do what I can to aid them. We're investigating a missing daughter, though my mind is stuck on Shilukar... a dark elf mage who is breaking into Nobles houses. There's a rumor he has sided with gnolls. Another rumor is that blue gnolls have been seen in the SE part of the Guildsman District. Awfully amazing chance co-occurrence.
I've also found the name of a fence, Amaldar. If ever I should come across this person, I will have to see if they are evil.
EPISODE 2
Where is everyone? I sat around at The Cock Pit for hours. I had a chance to speak with Carel , who was obviously running fixed fights in the backroom with his magically enhanced minotaur Krag. He seems to be as bad as we'd all expect a kidnapper to be, so I'm left thinking he might indeed be Dana's kidnapper. A few other patrons let me know the entire place is ran by Agah-Shan. Also found ties to the Balacazar family and was provided a wealth of information that they are not the best of citizens. When the group finally showed up, many hours late, Otto took it upon himself to attempt bluffing Carel. The risky move worked and we were told she is being kept at The "P" House on the second floor "with the figurines" and that it required "the thing" to get in. Not wanting to risk blowing our cover, we took that information and left.
Thereafter I was brought up to speed about the adventure they had which delayed them so. They had gone to The Red Warehouse on Able Row where Otto's bluffing did NOT work and they were stuck fighting two individuals; Laucio and Vagger, who had asked the party where Aurtree was, likely one of those I defeated earlier. After they were soundly trounced, they admitted that they were working for Toridan Cran (who theoretically owns the warehouse... Government records shall confirm this and likely provide to us their address). Laucio and Vagger were NOT Pale Dogs, interestingly enough, so the Dogs are just hired thugs indeed. Until we find who is at the bottom of this, I fear for Phon Quartermain's life.
EPISODE 3
Three days since I got here now. I slept well, though Otto sure didn't. He seemed to get a horrible rash in the most private of areas and was unable to join us for the rest of the day. It's alright as I've been secretly tossing a bag of potatoes to get proficient at tossing this lively creature. It will certainly come in handy.
I suggested we start the day out by investigating both the missing Dana as well as mroe information around Toridan Cran et al. I was pointed to the Order of Dayra, a sect of the Church of Lothian, focused on mercy and children. We wandered to Licorice Lane in the Guildsman district to find an orphanage of theirs. A sister there suspected such a girl would have been kidnapped by the Tolling Bell Cult (same as those involved in The Cock Pit and are identifiable by the cracked bell tattoo on their neck) who often sacrifice innocents. Not good. She said we could learn more in The Warrens
Bob, a random boy in their charge, worked for a Cran in the past as a pick-pocket. When we asked him what details he knew of, he was pretty sure Cran lived at the dead-end of Nar Street. VERY promising information. But since we were already so close to The Warrens we decided to head that way. The only luck we had there was in a conversation Reqqast had, as quietly as possible, with some of the Harrow Elves. They informed him of Lakimos (aka Lackie or "The Beggar King") who keeps human slaves. They defined The "P" House as likely being The Peyton House (located North of The Wagon Wheel in North Market. Koretsan at The Zor'At (Harrow Elf conclave) might be Lakimos's boss. The Zor'At can be found in the North Market. This is the place we should go to find out what item we'd need to gain entrance. They also said we should ask at The Temple of Asche about Zor'At. To help us get along better at Zor'At they noted that Karetsan is likely involved since he's had dealings with The Necropolis. As for what time frame we might have to save her, they were aware of an event called "Night of Dissolution" which likely requires a Runebearer be sacrificed. We can find out what the rune birthmark is at Zor'At as well. All they knew is it was very common until the Vallis Moon disappeared. The ritual is likely trying to bring it back.
On the further plus side, Brother Fabitor has offered to perform an augury to see what he could find regarding Toridan Cran, which might help as well.
EPISODE 4
We returned to the Delver's Guild to learn what we could about the Night of Dissolution. It was there that I learned it was not a planned event but rather something that would come about as circumstances aligned. In the beginning of creation, there were evil beings known as Gulchutt (aka Lords of Chaos). The great creator made the crystal Vallis Moon to trap them. Now apparently they are searching for this Vallis Moon as part of what is required for the Night. Secondly was the Rune Bearer which we are assuming to be the little girl Dana. So, rescuing Dana seemed to take a high priority. On our way to The "P" House, we stopped by to retrieve my augury on Toridan Cran.
Fortunately, hey had been given insights, though at a cost of 25 gold ... who knew it would be that expensive!? Still, we learned that our involvement would have a large positive impact immediately. However, it would also have a set of long term consequences that could be good or bad, it was unknown.
So we continued quickly to sort out getting into The "P" House. Otto and the others relied upon The Zor'At for filling in the blanks. They had good fortune and returned with the 'item' needed to get in, so we quickly rushed over to it. Upon arriving, we found locals wandering in the area, all proclaiming it to be a haunted place. We tried to interact with the occupants, but when that failed I removed the front door without giving them forewarning. I had a chance to see Dana being taken by ratmen. We quickly dispatched them, though I barely survived, and only from the help of Mulrit and his healing. I did what I could for Dana and managed to escape cleanly. The house had a secret passageway we have yet to investigate, but obviously the ratmen are involved (likely just hired) in trying to make The Night of Dissolution happen. Their evil can't be tolerated.
EPISODE 5
My first priority was to ensure the girl was healthy and safe. I called upon Lothian as I'd seen priests do in the past, asking that she be healed. To my surprise, she was! A quick scan of her body revealed a birthmark that was quite distinct. The likelihood that this is the mark of the Runebearer is high. When we woke her, she confirmed she was Dana.
When we returned her to her father, Tomon, he didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. I gave him all the monies he gave us as a reward, enough to get him out of the city and safe from the cults. The next day (the 6th now) we returned to Migos Forayth and The Black Swan to get HIS reward. We all felt something was suspicious and he told us to return at midnight.
We went to the city's offices and I was able to confirm that Toridan Cran all but owns Nar Street; a the warehouse and 3 homes among 2 warehouses and a home on Able Row. Otto et al filed a claim for The "P" House though they found a supposed relative has also put in a claim.
We rummaged around under The "P" House and found it dumped us into the sewers. After an unfortunate incident with some odd slime which left Grundric injured, we returned quickly. Twas close enough to midnight anyways. We returned to The Black Swan around 10 at night.
I was immediately aware upon entering that the crowd that had gathered didn't seem right. Two pairs of humans sat quietly against the wall, not drinking nor eating. A suspicious female halfling sat by herself on the far wall. I recognized her from having seen her in Mane. Otto approached Migos to collect the reward. The response was that we weren't supposed to have succeeded in our effort to return her, and that "The bell is tolling". He then began casting a spell.
While he wasn't casting a sense of evil, his past seemed embedded in it. His involvement in that cult certainly wasn't good, but kidnapping an innocent girl as a sacrifice for them? There's little greater evil. I had to take him out so I struck. It was then that the humans and the halfling all joined in the fray and were obviously hired thugs. The halfling escaped out the back as I dispatched Migos and the others incapacitated the humans. After the fact, someone pointed out that all the attackers had leather collars. Curious.
Unfortunately, one last sad fact remains... Phon is no longer under the church's watch. Why would they hire me to protect her when they themselves won't do such?
EPISODE 6
Grandma lived. ;)
EPISODE 7
Mulrit and I went to update Brother Mano (who would update Lord Zavere) on what we had found. When we returned to the docks, it seemed everyone had found us a boat to hire to get us out to find the area of the sunken ship. We found it and battle ensued and still goes on.
EPISODE 8
Grandma did NOT live. =/
EPISODE 9
The calendar turned to the ninth day I've been here already. My love for the church of Lothian waned and I don't feel they really can offer me what I was after. Nonetheless, I'll continue to try to do as good of deeds as possible for it's still in my nature.
Speaking of, we managed to return the strange undead daughter to Linech Cran, but she attacked him on sight. He seemed far more interested in the STOP WATCH she had than her. Apparently the watch was to secure him safety from the Balacazars. It also apparently somehow allowed the bearer to create the addictive drug that Cran had been making.
Good deeds done, I had a good feeling about the day overall.... until a speaking raven told Reqqast to get back to Castle Shard. Grim.
EPISODE 10
We returned to Lord Zavere and Lady Rill to produce the story of what had transpired. Upon hearing about the gold statue, he proclaimed it to be his friend Lord Abbercombe. He must have pissed someone off horribly! All he knew was that it had been a member of The Sorn that had done it.
So... why NOT try to steal a 6' gold statue from an insane man's second story while we had just messed with his life? Evil drug dealer that Linnech Cran is, he deserves a fate like this.
But then I saw them.... the fabled Blue Gnolls. They were jumping over the wall in the courtyard which Linnech's house was. I was in a bit of a hurry to help keep Grundy from getting himself killed as the thief had decided he'd race on ahead and make up a story to help ensure the statue was untouched and still there while everyone else brought the cart around. Sure enough, he was on the stairs hmmming and hawing. I stepped in and did what I could, but eventually Otto would weave a great tale and manage to work things out. He was able to get Sinneaus to just flee, but would back stab Linnech when he wasn't looking.
I was a bit stunned and wasn't sure I wanted to kill the man, but.... so I gave him a couple good slashes to keep him occupied while from behind Otto did his stuff. We took his head. Perhaps we can claim his house now too? Though everyone thinks we might make enemies with the Balacazar worse than we may already have. Then again, we let his sister, Biesta, go... so that'll likely come back and haunt us but I just couldn't feel like she was a bad person from what little I saw of her. Likely an innocent victim in all this. Or so I hope.
So, gold statue and head in tow, along with a lot of booty, we made our way back to Lord Zavere.
.... and why the hell do I smell like cinnamon all the time? It's starting to piss me off!
EPISODE 11
We ran into some of those 'undead' that the Lothian faith had told me about, but I really didn't see why they were any more offensive than any other gross creature trying to kill us. They seemed plenty susceptible to the scimitar, fortunately. I was asked to take a head off again. I'm starting to wonder about this party's sanity but I figure that so long as we're doing the right thing overall then my purpose here is served. We've not quite gone about saving the innocent and needy, but I also need to be patient. I'm learning quite a bit more than ever before with this real world combat experience. New foes have helped me learn the blade better.
And then there's the loot! I lost track of everything as this person took that and handed whatnot to whomever, but I DID catch sight of these unique magical paints. Anything painted seems to come to reality. I'll have to consider the possibilities!
EPISODE 12
Hawaii rocked =)
EPISODE 13
Time seems to be escaping me quickly. Already it is the 18th day of the new year. My concerns for Phon were re-raised when Mulwrit seemed to have come across information via Brother Mand. We know the following though;
-She is alive -She is in the city somewhere -The man whom she is having relations, Helmut, was involved in her disappearance -Toridan Cran is definitely involved -The Night of Dissolution is coming, but we have at least one week until it takes place
With this new information I had expectations the rest of the party would be set on finding her. Unfortunately, everyone seems to be focused on helping out Lord Zavere and his finding a cure for Lord Abercombe. Their logic seems to be somehow Lord Zavere will help us out once we help him. I guess that is theoretically possible, but Brother Mand felt he could perform more augury for us, which I felt to be the quickest and surest way of getting some answers.
For now I will humor them, but only for a day more.
So, in theory, Shilukar has the cure for Lord Abercombe and is willing to give it in exchange for sanctuary in Lord Zavere's Castle Shard. So we met up with a contact (who wore an amulet of the Knights of Shadows, a white octopus) who said he preferred to die by our hands than sell out his boss. For some reason, apparently due to past transgressions making his death or torture likely regardless, he informed us to get to Shilukar we'd need to go to a shack on Brandywine St in the Guildsman District where we'd find a hidden ladder down. He held true to his word and made the first attack, so I did what the group promised and gave him as merciful death as possible.
Another head. Getting a bit of a collection here....
At this point, the day was gone and night was setting in and I had made no progress on finding Phon so I may have been lacking patience, I know.... but it worked to our benefit I think as we seemed to catch them all quite off guard. Gnolls by the dozen, but they hadn't even had time to don their armor. They fell quickly to our blades though they got in a few lucky hits here and there.
What I found odd, though, is that they were in the process of digging out a tunnel... we haven't explored all the area yet, but I look forward to such as it might provide clues as to what they are up to.
In the meantime, I believe I will speak with Mulwrit a bit more and see if we can't come up with questions for the augury.... One I already have is 'Are we wasting our time at this point!?' Grrrrrr.
EPISODE 14
We stumbled upon a couple very large blue gnolls which proceeded to prove a rather difficult challenge. It was as I heard Otto and Cheval cry out that I came to realize that the battle would be lost and I feared the worst when Shilukar appeared and drew an end to the fighting. I was fearful I might lose control in just a second but managed to remain calm. He invited us into his lab, which was frightful at best. He has a sick mind and must be cleansed from this world.
He had the cure indeed, though it seems to be locked in a box with no place to put a key. It requires some special device that only Neveren knows the location of. Upon finding his shop we were dismayed to find that he had gone missing some years ago after getting involved with a chaos cult (The Tolling Bell Cult no less). His assistant, Cor, had a good idea of where he could be found, however, so we teamed up to free the man from the Pythoness Mansion. Ah, there is nothing sadder than a closed brothel.
This Cor surprises me and I find his company to be quite agreeable. The honor and loyalty he seems to embody are rather admirable, but he even did what he could to draw the attention and aim of the first wave of enemies we met up with within Pythoness Mansion. Very surprising and admirable to be sure.
EPISODE 15
Our trek through the closed brothel(sigh, nothing sadder) continued. Otto seemed to stumble across the undead I've grown to despise so I quickly dispatched half of them while Cheval seemed to call on his faith to ward them off and destroy them.
From there we found a statue of a large human which seemed to have the capacity to be moved but was missing something. There was an indentation of a circle that obviously must be a key.
At the top floor, Otto and Cor found yet another undead creature that materialized out of nowhere. Mulwrit seemed more than capable of dispatching it, fortunately.
In searching about, Cor found a small copper key behind a secret door.
After that, we found some strange porcelein dolls that we surreptitiously trounced.
The fighting has taught me many things. I think I am even more adept at fighting than ever before!
EPISODE 17
Our trek through the abandoned brothel (nothing sadder) continued. We were near the top floor when suddenly a form appeared. After assuring him we were on his side by mentioning Lothian, he introduced himself as Taunell. He said he needed the Lothianite prayer book to break the curse for him and "the other". Then he vanished.
We continued our trek and stumbled across an old journal which discussed;
=The Night of Dissolution =Weapons were hidden in the cellar =Year 717, the Cobbled Man had half the disc =Year 718, the Tolling Bell cult moved in =They summoned a goat headed thing =It gave hint as to where the key to the square tower was, though we already had it =Harvest 22, 718 Kinghts of the Pale showed up and the cult fled =Radanna was furious so killed all the whores
We continued our trek and came across what was quite obviously the Cobbled Man. With teamwork, he found himself flung over the precipice to his death. This group fights well! On him we found half the disc indeed.
The rest of the party came to agree that by pouring the urine from the vessel onto the stauette, while it was in the circle of summoning, that it would somehow aid us. An Angel apparently was held captive in and it noted it would kill the demon freed from the statue. Or so I hear.
I stayed with Taunell as I had hopes he might be freed of the curse from their actions. Taunell didn't immediately vanish, unfortunately. He again asked where his journal was. I explained I would continue the search.
So, we took the combined disc to the massive statue and it indeed moved, making it open for us to enter the cellar. The strange ice covered territory was imposing, but we decided to enter regardless. We came to a door that read "The Greatest Threat to the Stalwart Kings of Order, Created by that Ancient Elven Champion Vaiod The Slayer". I am impressed the party decided to go ahead and open the door despite the warning.
A mechanical hydra awaited us. Behind it was Tor's master's arm still clutching the key we were sought. So, destroying the hydra was the only option. It had a fragile point which was pointed out by Cheval and was immediately destroyed within seconds.
Within the treasure we found the "Book of Thoughts" which seems to be Taunell's 'book'. It allows the reader to read people's thoughts. An awfully powerful device. I'm not sure the party will allow me to have it to free Taunell.
EPISODE 18
As we left the once brothel, we were confronted by followers of The Tolling Bell. They demanded the weapons of chaos. Otto kindly made them aware that harassing us would result in their death and they accepted this. Lucky for us since we were hurt and exhausted. Their leader's name was Wuntad, who apparently is a Shigmaa (one who was touched by death and survived, seem to be revered by the Tolling Bell Cult.
Now we still had the weapons of chaos to deal with. I suggested we take them to a church of Lothian since I've grown to trust them, and Taunell was a member of the church. Perhaps they'd be in the best position of power to help. Brother Fabitor was utterly unable to help us and suggested we go to St Valiens Cathedral. Once there, we saw Archibishop Adlam Theobold who again was unable to help us so sent us to The Pale Tower.
On our way we were stopped by Carbin Trollon who seems to be some kind of evil crimelord. He suggested we give him the weapons so that he can sell them to "interested parties", and he'd split the monies with us. It doesn't seem any of us believe him, but we agreed to meet him this night at The Aristocrats Table.
Once at The Pale Tower, we eventually fell into the care of Aoska who was able to destroy the skull and the wand, but not without much effort and damage. With five items remaining, she suggested we go to The Inverted Pyramid. I asked what other help she might provide and she offered to loan us the golden shield she kept and gave me 4 10th level cure potions.
From there we slept and eventually met up with Cardin Trollon at The Aristocrats Table. Again Otto seemed to have a cunning plan. A quick distraction gave him the chance to slip Trollon a love potion. With those effects in place, Otto was able to glean a bit of information. It seems the 'Kill Ravens were after the weapons. Their leader, Kevris Killraven, seems to be quickly shooting up in power and is already a threat to the Balacazar Family.
All of this evil... there must be a way to get them to aim their ire at one another instead of this Night of Dissolution...
EPISODE 19
Mulwrit and I focused on getting the augury performed with Brother Mand regarding Toridan Cran so that we might find out the whereabouts of Phon Quartermain. While I feel less of a tie to the church of Lothian than I once did, I still feel a pull. They share my vision of protecting what is good, so their asking that we protect her is quite important.
So we wanted to focus on knowing where Phon was being held first. We focused on general locales and after a few we knew she was somewhere in the Northern section ... I then had suspicions that her boyfriend, Helmut, may have given in to the Tolling Bell Cult or have been bought out, so we confirmed that with a direction question and then also confirmed; 1. She is being held at 'Helmut's place on Lint St 2. There may be supernatural creatures watching her (the answer was 'yes, but confused') 3. There is no secret entry through the sewers 4. There is no magical or mechanical traps 5. It would not be easier to assault during the day
Now to sort out how to get the rest of the party to care as much about this task as I do... I've been working on Cheval for a while now...
Our story regarding the Weapons of Chaos continues regardless...
We went to meet Jessica Nor at the Inverted Pyramid. We knew she had incredible abilities with transmutation, but she noted she would be unable to help. She was also unwilling to hold onto them. She DID inform us of The Unmaker, a device that could likely destroy the remaining weapons. The last she knew of its locale, it was at The Chapel of St Thessina, another bit of the Lothian religion.
After a brief rest and rising to the 21st day of the New Year, we began our trek to the Chapel. Our entrance was stealthy and we caught a female dwarf and male halforc by surprise. After capturing them we stumbled across the four guards they mentioned. After dispatching them, we continued our trek upwards.
We found a captive named Vesto, but he set me on edge. With good reason as it turned out he was truly a "Dark Nagha". Our trek continued. Mulwrit dispatched a basilisk and again we ascended. That's where, on level 5, we found Brother Heth and a bug bear. He wore the symbol of Lothian, what a dishonor to the faith! I was barely able to contain myself but let Otto attempt to convince him to allow us to simply use The Unmaker and leave... but this did not work. Brother Heth seemed to have used Lothian's power to aid his bugbear companion, so I quickly dispatched it to end the disgrace. After his death, Brother Heth was quickly killed. I did what I could to offer him a chance to surrender, but no one else would hear of it.
In went the spear, twin bastard swords and dust which all seemed to quickly evaporate. The Unmaker seemed to do the job well.
Now hopefully I can get the party to focus on saving Phon Quartermain...
EPISODE 20
Reqqast did something odd. When he plucked the blade from Brother Heths body, he started speaking to himself. His ramblings revealed some information about the nature of what we're dealing with. I didn't catch the details but it had something to do with the Quaan being a parallel existence to our own where creatures are focused on terminating all our kind. A beholder by the name of Charch-Pahn still lives, as might a black dragon. This weapon is known as Yaeshla and is a shard from the Staff Of Shards. Maritha Moonrise had created the Staff of Shards to close the gateway to Qaann. It seems finishing her quest may be the very reason we were all oddly compelled to meet here in Ptolus? I know the name Eslathagos Malkith was uttered as well, and he was somehow involved in making the massive spire here in Ptolus as a warehouse for all things evil. I have a feeling that will be the place by which we will find the gateway.
I've taken the tainted armor off of Brother Mand and left it for repairs with Brother Mand, who will hopefully be able to restore Lothian's symbol and any blessing it may have had, or at least cleanse it of any foul nature. He says it seems to be well enough though. Brother Mand seemed quite pleased that we were able to cleanse the Chapel of St Thesina of it's fallen brother, and that we were now close to saving Phon Quartermain.
Cor made an excellent replica of the universal key, but on testing out the actual key it became obvious our plan had a flaw. Tubes and metal drive into the wearer's arm and it seems to feed off of blood and lifeforce. It's evil may be more than I can tolerate and I might seek the advice of the Church of Lothian as to whether or not it should be destroyed. Cure for Lord Zavere or not, it might be too high a price to pay.
We were tracked down by Korben Trollone who was quite unhappy to hear the Weapons of Chaos were destroyed. Otto didn't exactly tell the truth of their fate, but he also did at least make it clear that retrieving them was now impossible. He may have convinced Korben to see us as allies for now.
The day is now the 24th of the new year....
EPISODE 21
Japan ROCKED!
EPISODE 22
I seem to have been so overwhelmed at the prospect of saving Phon that I passed out. I had visions of a weird place called Nippon.
Ah well. She was rescued and I left in charge of guarding her. In an effort to ensure her safety for the long-term, I paid for her care for at least the term of her child (2 months+). I explained she was critical to the "Night of Dissolution". She firmly believed Helmut would not have voluntarily given her up, and with his own disappearance this may be the case. We may now need to rescue him as well. The augury seemed to provide support to the idea he wasn't actually guilty of anything per se.
We woke to the 26th day of New Year with intentions of somehow stealing the cure from Shilukar, or his simulcrum anyways. In analyzing the city, and speaking with Cor, it was thought there might be another secret way to get down into Shilukar's lair. After much time, and revealing even more plot (1), I grew impatient and asked we simply go straight there. He was expecting us after all.
(1) - When investigating Jensens Rope Shop, it seemed they had been secretly publishing a newsletter. She seemed to be a follower of Lothian, so I hope her intentions are pure. It mentioned The Foundry and that underneath it the Shuul (Masters of technology and follow order/science) might have some liquid called "God's Blood".
With some cleverness on the part of Reqqast, we found ourselves sealed in the room with just Shilukar and the two blue gnolls (Angash and Brugul) locked outside. Given the nod, I attacked as he donned the key. Both blades struck and severed his arm in one blow, fortunately, and the thing dissolved right before our eyes. Convenient. I gathered up the arm and key (making sure not to touch either) and then searched his body. I found a golden goblet, a masterwork dagger, a thunderstone and a gold ring with a large ruby. I also found a few things with a magical aura; A pearl, a wand, 2 potion vials, 4 scrolls and 2 rings. Lastly, I found 3 odd spiky balls which I could tell were some form of devious device.
Now to try to get out of here in one piece. Last time we went up against Angash and Brugul, we nearly died. Mulwrit had a brilliant point. We say the key killed him. Very very clever! Hopefully it works...
EPISODE 23
My blades served us very well this time. I lost track of all that I destroyed. Fortunately, while they were quite impressive in battle, the blue gnolls Angash and Brugul were forced to surrender. Cheval continues to impress me with his compassion as he wisely noted they could be brought before the Brotherhood of Redemption (and they seemed to be content to take the gnolls in, so let's hope for the best).
As we wandered the streets, morning started, making this the 27th of NewYear. Amazing how quickly the time has passed. I hadn't expected life to be this dangerous when I arrived. I feel it's certainly evidence that the dreams did indeed have a deeper meaning... but I still don't know what that is. I'll take some time now to meditate upon it. But first, we need to cure Lord Abbercombe.
We made it to Castle Shard and they were thrilled to see our return. The potion took effect, though he was still entirely composed of gold. In asking him how he befell such a fate, he blamed House Sadar for the curse, yet in our initial investigation I recall it having been The Sorn who were to blame. I found this odd. Still, he seemed to be in good health otherwise so I feel we've done what we can for him and Lord Zavere (who provided bracer-like creations to show we have his support) I can now focus on Phon.
EPISODE 25
Ah, the theater... I hadn't been to a large production before so this was to be my first time. And like much anything this group does, it involved chaos, mayhem and killing. I wasn't surprised. In fact, I was ready for it.
I knew things couldn't remain sane when I met 'THE boy' who could sing. Twas Dullin Balacazar, grandson of Menon Balacazar (the leader) and son of Malkeen Balacazar.
So perhaps theater is typically of better quality in a city as large as Ptolus, but the playwright Marlow Atrabonc seemed quite set on turning it into an abysmal creation. Liss Satorosh, the owner of the theater, has to be happy by the chaos that ensued than letting the abomination of stage be born.
So, it was the opening of Act 2 (and thus far things had been luckily going well enough) when the chaos started. A group of very inept assassin-would-bes dressed as caterers showed up on stage. I saw my own copatriots trying to dispatch them and, despite knowing the play was at best a myriad of random offal thrown into a pot and stirred, I knew this wasn't part of the play. Still, they kept the play going to my surprise. I hadn't done such before but was willing to give it a go.
I had taken a spot in the upper balconies believing if there'd be an attempt on Dullin's life it'd come in the form of archery or magic, from a place where they'd have a clear view of him... not from the stage itself. So thankfully I hadn't underestimated the distance to the stage and was able to leap down easily and begin dispatching the killers (while trying to pretend it was part of the play... and I'm still not sure I even went to disgrace the Litorian's by having been in it even if things had gone as planned). It was just as we were finishing the last of them when the REAL killers made themselves known.
Perhaps these were members of the Sisterhood of Silence or one of Kevris Killraven 's clan. Or perhaps it was one of Malkeen Balacazar's sisters; Fesamere or Maysta. Regardless, they had done what I had thought, took position in the balcony, though they ALSO had archers in the back of the crowd. With a lot of leaping between stage and balcony, I managed to dispatch half of the evil. Reqqast had stolen the boy to safety in the meantime, but unfortunately Otto seemed to take a hit laced with poison and began to quickly fade. Thankfully, Cheval was able to restore him.
I had a lucky strike on their leader and seem to have accidentally caved her skull in, so she won't be spilling any answers, but I was able to subdue one of the others. Hopefully we'll be able to get some answers from them.
But I still believe the play turned out better than I expected. Without the chaos, I fear I may have actually taken injury in the form of mental trauma.
EPISODE 26
Otto seems to find a way into every mess possible. I've been feeling stronger and stronger that the draw and dreams that brought me here were to stop the Night of Dissolution.... but every day it seems Otto has some manner by which to get us drawn into pure chaos. This time it was Iltumar
We went to The Ghostly Minstrel and found him drinking by himself. Otto felt it necessary to ask what he was doing there, and of course any creature with ties to him would, of course, be drawn to either evil or chaos. I'm seeing a definite pattern. So, sure enough, this young human had signed on with some miscellaneous devious plot. Perhaps out of pure ignorance, perhaps because he himself is twisted with evil. Don't know, don't care, took care of the entire group of cultists and rendered a couple unconscious for questioning. Amazingly, they had a kobold guarding the door who was actually quite a skilled fighter. I'll leave questioning of him and the other two cultists to Otto and Reqqast. That'll help discourage them from participating in anything evil again I should think.
Hrm, maybe I should encourage Reqqast to speak with Iltumar too...
EPISODE 27
Quite a bit is coming to light now. Odd it should be our dealings with Iltumar who should start helping us tie pieces together. It seems as though the Night of Dissolution is going to happen soon. Many groups are working together to ensure it happens. From Iltumar we learned; =There will be an event in the sky soon. =The Temple of the Ebon Hand (worships deformity) is somehow involved. =They're going to melt an artifcat somewhere in the place known as The Kalidescope. =A project in Old Town is to start soon but first requires meeting The Surgeon (by Years End Day, which is still some time from now, over 10 months). The Surgeon has a real name of Kinion Luth. =It's said the Vallis Moon may soon rise and if during that time a proper spell is cast, persons can enter a hidden month. Imagine the power those would have.
So on we went to questioning Visshik, the kobold leader who had been organizing the event Iltumar had attended. He noted all the names of people that attend these events with "The Brotherhood" are false, but they are known as: Skairris Noll , Jamill Roshama , Anika Thersil , Dilar , and Arveth.
Visshik also noted Wuntad hired him. We killed him once already. How unfortunate. He also mention Malleck, the leader of The Ebon Hand.
Further questioning got us the location of the project in question, Crossing St in Old Town. A solid lead.
We also learned that Iristyl Vladaam of House Vladaam (horribly corrupt house) is seeking The Hunger Swords. Iristyl Vladaam is also a Vested of the Galchutt, which we read in the book they will bring about the Night of Dissolution.
So with that long night past us, it became the 30th of Birth (April). Just as I was hoping to follow the lead regarding the project, Cheval noted one of his friend's friends had gone missing. They had been investigating Master Allums School of Thought.
We arrive at said 'school' and to my intense surprise, we find what is obviously The Surgeon holding his friend's captive. He's a horribly disfigured abomination that was doing cruel things to one of his captives, Kurm. The Surgeon managed to escape, somehow, but I was quick to get Kurm to proper healing at The Pale Tower with Cheval.
Perhaps this was the project in question? Again we strike a blow to their plans. Now to try to keep Phon safe....
EPISODE 28
At the Pale Tower Cheval and I are informed there's a hoard (50k+) comingfrom the East. The city is preparing itself and even the Inverted Pyramid is helping. Tarsus is not. That's surprising as I would think they'd know themselves to be a target if Ptolus falls.
But most importantly, this invasion is in the prophecies as well. Great.
I feel we should go to the Watchers of the Sky to investigate, or perhaps the Fate Weavers and investigate this. Perhaps it's all too late and obvious that events are coming together for the Night of Dissolution and we should instead just ready ourselves to somehow get within that pocket of time.
Regarding that cursed event... It's frustrating The Surgeon has gotten away... finding him is now a focus and priority for me. But first, we need to further investigate that apartment house with the experiment.
What a horror this place has been so far! Cocoons containing people (past residents most likely) being transformed into horrible spider beasts. Acid on the ceilings. When we came across some residents who were still alive an in tact I asked if they had heard the name Malleck mentioned. They had. The building was taken over ~4 days ago by the monsters and persons in cloaks much like the ones we saw at the meeting of The Brotherhood. Again, that coiled snake symbol was on a pendant worn by one of them... more signs I've seen tied to the night...
