Session 25: Scum Town Shuffle

 The PCs begin where we left off, in the old textile mill with Ty Kimbal in front of them.

Ty has introduced himself, saying he was testing them to see if they would be worthy adventuring companions. He is quite arrogant. He gives each of them a small bag with 5gp for their trouble, and invites them to the Eye of the Beholder for a drink, it still be night time. 

After a quick drink he leaves. The PCs stay. Their old associate Rivas Greel comes in with his bodyguard Larsh. Rivas sits with them and invites them to a party the next night at his estate, saying he has acquired a piece of pre-cataclysm artwork and is throwing a party at which friends and associates can view it. He's in a great mood. The trio accepts the invitation.

That night each of the PCs has a different experience:

• Simon has a lucid dream, in which he is on an island with a castle. He explores the castle, finding a long corridor full of prison cells. Each cell has a human skeleton in it. He hears "help..." coming from further down. After going down what seemed and endless corridor, he comes to the end. He finds a cell with an old, withered person in a cloak and hood sitting against the wall. As Simon watches, the person pulls back the hood, revealing a face just like Simon's but aged many many years. It begins cackling madly at him. Simon awakens.
• There's a knock on Mick's door. It's his thief associate Slovas,  who informs him about the party at Rivas's house, the artwork which is a statuette carved from a huge ruby of a pre-cataclysmic barbarian queen. He wants Mick and the others to help hims steal it. Mick says he'll discuss it with the others and they pick a place to meet up the next day.
• Debi hears a trilling music in her room, and sees a spectral image of Rax's pet, Magpie, who signals for Debi to follow. She enters Rax's shop, where they catch up. Rax tasks her to go to the Castle Island, a days sail off the coast of Langwon, and retrieve a whisker from the giant feline being Bubastis, who lives on the island. No strict time frame. Debi of course agrees.

Mick buys some fancy clothes and hat with a feather in it for the party. The group arrives to find many VIPs they have previously met already at the party. Debi is offered a snack by Slovas, who is disguised as a servant. He winks at her. She lets Mick know that he's there. 

The house is crowded with people. Rivas invites Debi to entertain in the trophy room, where the statuette sits on a stone platform, under glass. She rolls a total of 22 on a performance roll, completely entrancing the crowd with her song and the Moon Lyre. 

As she performs, she sees the statue suddenly disappear from its display case. She sees Slovas looking surprised. Simon casts detect magic, and is aware that a man standing hear him as cast a spell. A servant near the door to the lounge suddenly has the statue in his hands. He throws it to another person who runs out the front door.  Mick and Debi take off after them followed by Larsh. Simon sees the spellcaster turn invisible. He attacks but misses as the other two pursue the thieves, Simon casts Locate Object to track the unique boots the wizard was wearing. He follows the wizard outside, to find that he' dropped invisibility and use Fly to take off. Simon hits him with Guiding Bolt, but he continues flying. 

Simon tracks the spellcaster from the ground using Locate Object after the wizard dips between buildings. 

Meanwhile Mick and Larsh chase the thief with the statue into the sewers. Debit pursues the other and casts Charm Person on him, convincing him to lead her to where the thieves had planned to go to get away. He leads her to the sewer, where she meets Mick and Larsh. The charmed thief reveals that his partner is hidden in a secret hiding behind a secret door, and that just beyond it is large chamber where they'd have been attacked by giant frogs. They open the door and catch the other thief.

Simon follows the wizard into a building. After a brief encounter, the wizard blasts him with Lightning bolt, coming 1 point from killing him. The wizard leaves, not knowing that Simon can heal himself quickly to almost full health calling upon the power of his god, Ahki. Simon then follows the wizard, successfully using stealth, to what may be his lair.

He returns to the group.

End of session. 

Sessions 22, 23, and 24: Lament's Stronghold and The Test

 This will be a quick recap, as it has been a while.

The party arrives at the Great Canyon and finds the triangular obelisk markers of the stairs down to the bottom of the canyon. Debi Hari uses the scroll's incantation to drop the magical force field which previously repelled Mick as he attempted to go through. The party starts down the stairs on the 600 foot decent. 

Halfway down they are attacked by a flock of disgusting, flying, fleshy creature that look like  across between hairless bats and mosquitoes -- stirges. The creature are easy to kill, but with three stirges per party member they do some damage. The party survives and makes it to the bottom.

They find the entrance to the stronghold of Straja Lament. Debi opens it. Inside they find the mummies of an elf in shining chainmail, a barbarian, and a dwarf. When Debi uses Mage Hand to take the elven chainmail and try it on, she gets a nasty electrical shock. They leave it. 

Going up the stairs Mick almost finds a trap, but misses it. As he steps on one of the steps, and iron gate blocks off the exit at the bottom, leaving Jewell and Lorian locked out of the stairwell. Meanwhile in the room above a crystal golem-like construct attacks. They destroy it, and the party manages to figure out the gate mechanism. Debit and Mick use Mage Hands to manipulate the mechanism while the strong characters lift the 600 pound iron gate. The party is reunited.

They explore the stronghold. Simon finds a hollow wall and then a secret door that provides and easy entrance to the interior. 

They explore, finding Lament's old chambers and workshop. They fight the hydra-vine in her garden. They discover the treasure room in which they fight two more of the crystal guardians. Finally they defeat 9 giant crystal spider constructs in the bottom of a pit room.

They leave and return to Langwon. XP 445 each. 

 Returning to Langwon, the PCs are at the Eye of the Beholder. They are lured to an abandoned textile factory by what appears to be Blix Yodarian, Mick's mentor. Mick goes in first by himself and is hit by a crossbow bolt trap in some stairs. Simon and Debi join him. They find themselves in a building that has been filled with deadly traps, which they explore. Finally they open a door and see a beholder in there. Simon cast Sacred Flame but misses. Debi casts Cloud of Daggers. Mick slams the door shut. It is the monster's turn. They hear a giant blast of air inside the room but don't open the door.

A wizardly figure appears behind them, introducing himself as Ty Kindal, who has been studying them. He set this all up to access their prowess as potential adventuring partners, and explains that inside the room was a Gas Spore, not a Beholder, and that they avoided being infected by its explosion when Mick slammed the door.

End of session 23. 200 more XP each.