Originally we had Aaron, Dan, and Matt signed up to play, but due to an alleged schedule conflict Matt had to skip this session. Due to the fact that it was about 5.5 hours I am breaking this into multiple posts. For background see the previous post.
The Adventure Begins
Our tale begins with the two main characters, Big Jim Umbrage and Apical Meristem. Big Jim Umbrage (Dan) grew up on a farm outside Senkazia and is now seeking a life of adventure in the “big city”. Apical Meristem (Aaron) is a former halfling farmer who spent the last 10 years in a monastery following the path of the Self-Reliant. Apical was sent to Senkazia to investigate some recent mysterious disappearances.
Upon arrival to the city, both characters found their way to the Horse’s Head Inn, in the Merchant district. Apical made a pit stop at the local shrine of the Self-Reliant, making contact with Brother Meriam (the cleric in charge of public outreach and ministry). Big Jim Umbrage proceeded to get into a debate with Lister the Limner, prompting Aaron to accuse me of always including limners in the campaign because I like to say “limner”. Strong words for a guy whose character name is so hard to pronounce that one always takes a drink before saying it! I maintain that the limners just ground the game in the original works of E. Gary Gygax. Whatever.
In any case, the argument attracted the attention of Apical who quickly befriended Big Jim since they found each other strangely interactive and having more depth than the people around them. However it was getting late and time to find out what accommodations the inn could offer. Apical chose the common room at a rate of 1CP per 2 nights, finding a prized cot in the corner that was actually 4 feet from the next bed. Instead of these princely accommodations, Big Jim chose the basement, at a rate of 1CP per week. Unfortunately the promise from the innkeeper of a “fence you can put around your area of the floor” turned out to refer to various nettles and tumbleweeds which could be stacked/wrangled to put a barrier between you and the nearest three “pathetic hoboes” sharing your quarters. In excruciating detail we discussed how Big Jim had to travel across most of the basement to get to his spot, how he fenced himself in with the dried tumbleweeds, and how he threw the lice-ridden bedding into another part of the floor. Also, how he emptied the chamber pot onto the ground outside his space rather than into the cesspool. On his way out he witnessed two filthy male bums groping each other, one of whom was a gnome. Aaron informed us that in none of the podcasts he listens to is this type of detail ever roleplayed, and additionally not every NPC is a “cock”. I bet they don’t have many limners either; but Dan and I both agreed that is just an indicator of poor roleplaying.
The intrepid adventurers then reconvened in the inn to listen to the minstrel play and pass the time between “eye close” (sunset) and last call. However, later that evening there was some type of disturbance and a member of the Merchant Watch stumbled in wounded, collapsing in front of the PCs. Apical’s quick thinking kept him from dying of his wounds, and the party then moved outside to investigate. Apparently a group of merchant watchmen were escorting the “ale wagon” (which actually carried grog) when one of the guards stepped into an alley to take a leak. Unfortunately there was some type of mysterious attack and he suffered wounds to his buttocks and head. Speculation ensued as to whether he was a victim of the rumored “flying undead”, an alleged cross between a ghast and a gargoyle, or whether his wounds were related to the mysterious disappearance of multiple women of childbearing age recently. The characters investigated the alley and determined that he had been stabbed in the ass, then clawed in the head. Additionally, they found a scale belonging to an unknown creature. As a violent thunderstorm was whipping up, the group retreated inside the inn and headed to bed. Big Jim noted that the basement smelled better because of the rain outside, unfortunately the dirt floor also turned to mud during the night and soiled his bedroll.
The next day, investigation of the attacks and the city of Sengazia ensued. Bright and early of course, because at ”eye open” (sunrise), the inn banged pots and pans at the top of the basement steps to ensure all of the bums left for the day. The party then enjoyed bacon, eggs, and ale (?) for breakfast. Then followed Big Jim’s conversation with Will the Wagonmaker, a bum who lost his job when his wagon making company went out of business. Apparently cheap imported wagons had driven them under and Will was reduced to beggarhood. Out of the goodness of his heart (ha) Big Jim relented and gave Will 1 foot of catgut. The team proceeded to the constable’s office to find out more about the attacks and disappearances. Garack, the assistant constable, interrupted his spear training to speak with the adventurers. In an offhanded manner he informed them that this was a “burning issue” but also that he lacked the manpower to deal with the situation. The party offered to help, in exchange for the promised reward: approximately 25 gold plus 5 gold per missing woman found alive. In order to identify that the party was helping with the matter, each was issued a hand axe suitable for use by members of the Merchant Watch. This led Big Jim to remark that he could stay in the basement for months just by hocking this hand axe.
Following their official enlistment in the investigation, the group decided to head to the noble quarter in an attempt to find a ranger. At the Red Wyvern they were informed that this was a fine establishment, and loitering was not permitted; so they hung out in the street until they saw a rangerly-looking fellow emerge. It turned out that Mogfor, “Ranger Extraordinaire”, was willing to help them and identify the scale as the nose scale of a kobold. This information was interesting but did not lead to anything, so the party resolved to search around the residential area of the city, near where attacks had taken place. More on this will be told in the next post.
