Malta Session 36: 05/10/2018 Return to Zebbug, A Feeble Minded Gamon, and Chomson's Deal

We begin this week’s session outside Zebbug at dusk; the taint of the Black Druid still fresh in our memories. Here our characters find Gamon’s grove is lush with olives; it reminds us of how Gammon gave Jabari seeds to spread around Malta and surrounding islands. When we arrive our characters find evidence of combat with dragon-armored troops, a trail of fallen foes leading to Nogamon who is tending over his son Gamon who seems distant and in an as yet unknown state.

Gamon

Nogamon calls for Jabari and after investigating Gamon’s condition realizes the centaur is feebleminded; a condition Nogamon can remedy. Jabari volunteers to aid in the ceremony while Lete, Lex, and Carlo begin to move dead foes from the grove. Here among the fallen everyone finds an upgraded cloak of resistance, amulet of armor, or magical ring of protection (up to a +2). Lermang will keep an eye on Zebbug that had just set off pyrotechnics moments ago. Marco and Evagara set a patrol, wary of an attack. Our horses were hidden elsewhere in grove.

The healing ceremony takes about an hour, restoring Gamon's intelligence. However he does not have much information to shed on what happened. Nevertheless with the grove and the druid restored our characters decide to investigate Zebbug and help where we can.

A short time later our characters see obstacles have been strategically placed; disabled wagons and crates stood around the walls of Zebbug. When we get closer still we see a decomposing dwarf female impaled upside down on a pike atop the city walls. From between the spaces of wagons and obstacles comes a well armored orc and an ogre who immediately spot us. Each of us notices the two glancing frequently at the area above the walls behind them. “Zebbug is closed until the morning.”

Lex, “We saw the flares and have come to help.” Marco however answers to no one, but Dino and Rock are the BEST at their jobs and what followed next was a rant that ends with a story of how Dino knocked out IL-Kataniz’s champion before IL-Kataniz was turned over. The ogre however is intent on human flesh and greedily looks over Evagara.

Before our characters lay into these two, Jabari spots a Gribbon and a Derhii flying about over Zebbug invisibility. We defeat Dino and Rock just as Jabari sees the fliers break off, flying generally towards IL-Kataniz estate

Inside Zebbug the city looks as if it was conquered by Carthage, complete with a large amount of mercenaries around. Some buildings have the mark of the dragon but not a lot of dragon followers can be seen. We decide to fly towards IL-Kataniz estate; Lete using his cloak and the rest potions and spells to fly. Our characters keep below the top floor of the cities buildings to stay undetected as long as possible. 

Along the way we see magical rings of fire springing forth and archers gathering readying bows for the flame. The rings give off a lot of light. As this happens groups of Gribbon and a Derhii fly in the direction of Gamon's grove. Several voices call out as some individuals notice our passage; nevertheless we make haste to IL-Kataniz. Behind us olive trees in the grove burst into flames as mists and fog rise up around IL-Kataniz’s manor. The ‘dinner bell’ we came to recognize during our last visit is rung, a signal. We then head to the barn that once held our private dealings.

We hear sounds of prisoners inside the barn and a see an abomination on the rooftop- a chimera with a lion, goat and a red dragon’s head. As we combat the beast a dark elf armed with kukris, levitates to the top of the barn. We kill the chimera but the drow got away. In the barn our characters find farmstead women and children while, we eventually learn, the trained soldiers were traded to the Carthaginians. Lex sneaks toward the estate and before long Chomson could be heard, he did not seem surprised we were there. An otherworldly voice reminds Chomson of his ‘deal’.  

Outside Jabari summons mounts to rig to wagons to get out the women and children out of Zebbug while fliers could be heard in the air. Lex is able to find and access IL-Kataniz to get the papers.

In the barn the voice of Chomson calls out to Marco and asks him to leave because if we stay then everyone has problems. This as Carlo gives the women and children instructions and to wait for a signal while Jabari casts haste on the horses as several Carthaginians charge towards the barn and begin to burn it. Meanwhile Carlo intuits the unseen mind flayer is trained and with class levels. Our characters delay our escape until Lex returns but eventually we retreat to Gamon’s grove.

Checking what Lex retrieved we find information on the shipwreck on Ta’fraben island as well as map with Ta’fraben island circled and confirmation that Chomson sold this information to the Carthaginians. A group of Carthaginian ‘Children of Baal’ (Hammon) slavers; they would recover the Monger warship over the next six weeks for Chomson. Meanwhile IL-Kataniz is being held until the warship is recovered and a possibility of six locations for an exchange, so he is likely being held on a ship with the first location occuring in ten days. We hope to try to identify the ship holding IL-Kataniz.

Chomson

At the grove we explain what we faced and learned in our recent battles including the appearance of the dark elf who Nogamon warns us of. When our characters mention Ta’fraben island Nogamon warns us of ancient creatures and the swarms of insect creatures as well as the Trox and Thri-Kreen. There is rumored to be savage mind flayers there as well. A portal to hell is rumored to be located there and even the plants can consume an individual.

Nogamon offers to help us in our impending trip to Ta’fraben with improved antitoxins for each of us as well as scrolls for the return of IL-Kataniz and the men from the slavers, approximately 500 to 1000 individuals.

We begin next week's session making plans for what's next; heading to Paola and then off to Ta’fraben.