Okpara Sebek-Em-Of

Okpara Sebek-Em-Of was unaccustomed to loss.  The arrangement he had brokered had been torn apart by a strange group of adventurers from Malta. The deal Okpara had made with Rudjek would have provided The Servants of Decay two of the golden statuettes to study, the fallen Paladin now a Mummy Lord, and control over both the ghost and his ancestor The Undead Warlord Para Sebek-Em-Of who was cursed in his undead existence guarding the ghost sorcerer Maven.   Okpara doubted that Rudjek knew of his relation to the Undead Warlord, nor did he believe the slaver priest understood enough of ancient True Name magic to realize the full extent that Okpara would control the ghostly sorcerer.  In return The Servants of Decay were to have provided the slaver priest with a boat load of talents, children marked by unique magic and powers.  Now his trade and leadership was shattered across the burnt husk of the Deep Falcon and its two sister ships.  The Maltese hero’s reasons for interfering in his trade were unclear but the damage they had done to Okpara was substantial and unforgivable.  Their interference would not go unanswered.  

Malta Session 38: Investigating the Sarcophagus, Plague Rats, and the Honor of Para Sebek-Em-Of

We catch up with our characters around midnight to get a full nights rest with the goal of scouting out the sarcophagus we learned last game session remained at the Egyptian warehouse which lies relatively close to the bard’s college campus. Once in sight of the warehouse our characters see the building is being watched warily by the people of Paola and is guarded by former dock- now city guards.

Jabari steps up and addresses one of the guards, we promptly learn that Cian is inside. Our characters are allowed entrance to find Cian and Sven Jarlsson studying the sarcophagus. There is a light suppressing effect in the warehouse. Divination reveals there is a great danger within and woe would befall the individual or individuals who open or moves the Ancient Sarcophagus.

Lex explains to the Finnish clerics our battle against the warrior skeleton and that it was looking for something, Lex omits the details of the Egyptian statuary.

Lete looks up at the structure of the warehouse and suggests having natural sunlight bath the darkened room; while Carlo measures the sarcophagus as 12’ long 4.5’ wide and 4.5’ tall comprised of stonework and valuable metals and finds symbols for every Egyptian god with none holding dominance in its artistry. Towards the bottom of the sarcophagus are latches on each side. We determine the object has likely been over the past year but not more than five years and it is the only thing in the building. Ancient arcane and divine symbols predate any modern identification. Noted the sarcophagus' head points east, in the general direction of Egypt.

Jabari detects magic to find remnants of Cian’s magic; including residual conjuration magic, abjuration, all relatively recent castings as well as older negative energy magic. For the duration of Jabari’s efforts finds an impression of an evocation in a radius around the sarcophagus signifies a desecration spell casting each day.

At last our characters decide to take over sarcophagus watch for a few hours to give Cian a chance to prepare for consecrating these grounds as we hope to use Nogamon’s gift of a greater dispel magic shortly after lunch.

Jabari and Lex will wait and patrol outside, Lete will walk circles around the object, while Marco, Evagara, and Carlo also remain inside watching the sarcophagus. When suddenly the latches are found undone; we come together when after a few attempts to reattach the latches Carlo uses his telekinesis to clasp the sarcophagus secure once again. A few moments later the sarcophagus comes unsecured once again seemingly on its own accord. Does anyone read these reviews? Lex proposes there maybe someone or something in a dimensional space about the building interfering but doesn’t discover any noticeable effects. Ticks are noticed escaping from under the sarcophagus. 

Having run out of patience Carlo uses his telekinesis to move the sarcophagus to find a trap door where all the tick-like bugs are coming up from. Modern magic symbols surrounds the newly discovered trap door. Our characters surmise these magics are part of the reason the darkness is so permeating as well as symbols pertaining to what lies below the trap door. A minute goes by before the stone trap door springs out, as well as a tick swarm presents itself along with an impossibly large swarm of plague rats as well as the ghost Maven.

Our characters flee the warehouse with our lives and begin to heal ourselves after securing the door behind us; the plague rats swarms growing larger by the second. After about  a minuet plague rats begin to eat their way out of the building. Jabari and Evagara attack the rats with fire as Lete realizes they too fast heal. A solid minuet of fireballs after which we realize that these were mythic plague rats, there is still the ghost Maven, as well as whatever is in the Ancient sarcophagus.

Eventually Cian arrives to cure Jabari and Carlo’s lycanthropy contracted from the plague rats and looks at the smoldering warehouse. He naturally has concern for the people of Paola. (Those who contracted the disease are immune to the black plague.)

We return to the Bonded Mind and inform them of recent events before we eventually head to the Boxers Safehouse for a brief respite. Here Lex learns there has been a courier looking for Carlo. A meeting is arranged for the Golden Horn in the morning where Carlo eventually learns the message was from the Borg House: 'Broken Moon Monastery has been found' and a map of the Mediterranean and a 'rock' the Monastery is located. 

We catch up with our characters later that night and the dual with the skeleton warrior who expresses a desire to be released form Maven servitude. Marco fearlessly accepts the challenge and in the end defeats the undead Egyptian warrior Para Sebek-Em-Of who thanks Marco for an honorable fight; the shadows creatures perish around us and as the dust settles an old +3 keen ghost touch great sword is left behind. 

We are awarded our 8^th character level and pick up next game session the next morning meeting up with Cian and Sven for an attack on Maven.

ORIGINAL

Malta Session 37: Paola's Most Wanted, Egyptian Statuary, and The Stake Out

On our return to Paola from Zebbug we pass through the Halfling Village and meet up with the folks we saved a short time ago from the Black Druid's honey confinement, as well as displaced folk from Paola. Marco, familiar with a couple from Paola- met at last month’s Opera ball- folks known for doing business with the Egyptians. Our characters learn that this practice of trading with Egypt is frowned upon as of late and these people were thus are shamed into leaving their homes.

Lete inquiries about any rise to power or anything else that could have washed into the city when the Portal At The End Of The Plank collapsed. A woman named Afar indicated to Lete that Dom Mintoff has risen to popularity with his generous donations to the Bard College. Furthermore there are rumors of what’s called light eaters in Paola due to the fact that some magical lights have gone out in advance of some unseen horror. Additionally, further looting in Paola has been blamed on these unseen mysterious creatures. It is suspected that it is likely thieves taking advantage of the chaos in Paola.

Apep

Continuing on our way to Paola we decide to make a brief detour to the first tengu cache. When we get within sight of the tree marking the spot we see several armed and armored nondescript individuals. In an awakening action Jabari’s bonded cloak warns him through mental communication and visual means that these creatures are actually tengu of the Cold Clutch. However our characters are low on resources and decide to press on to Paola.

Arriving outside Paola as night draws near, as we pass a number of outlying ranch houses that look to now contain extended family and friends in residence; folk displaced from Paola. At the third ranch house our characters are hailed by a group of what look like dock hands who tell us they are searching the houses for escapees from the Bard College: Kasok, Rudjek and one of the Aulus- likely the doppleganger.

As disheartening as this news was we press on to Paola to eventually find a construction crew dismantling one of the iconic archways. We inquire as to who ordered this and soon learn that it was Endhin issued the order. Lex casts a detect magic and learns that while the archway is not magical it is capable of holding spells longer than normal. Marco and Lex convinces the workers to take the rest of the night off before we head off to look for End'hin.

Sobek

At the Bard’s College we see an increase in security and a change in the campus lights from magical to oil lit lanterns. Eventually we are recognized and as we are directed towards the main campus we see magical detections in use and in a short time are met by Melissa and her mother Professor Mintha who usher us to a converted war room.

Here our characters learn there was an attack on the Bard’s College inciting the escape of several individuals. Cian was badly wounded and Endhin was neutralized and magically transported out to sea but survived. They have also found Rujek’s warehouse has been cleared out as well. There has also been a lot of strange unexplained occurrences throughout Paola but the attack was made by primarily Egyptians including a large number of gray warriors. 

As far as the archways are concerned the various resistance leaders agreed that archways were magical and as old as the Portal At The End Of The Plank and after long discussions they decided to dismantle the archways for future study. There was much distrust about the archway but it was Cian that suspected there was ways to track and identify folk who pass through the archway.

We eventually find End'hin using magics to question dead Egyptians, when he sees us he seems rather embarrassed. He explains he was at the Finnish church when the attack came, he felt a tug and suddenly he was falling from an impossible height into the ocean; flashes of the jailer still playing on his fears. He was eventually picked up by a ship called the Apple Baron and was taken back to Paola where he finds that the Finnish, the Egyptian and the Babylonian churches had been looted; holy symbols, logs, and religious items of value both high and mundane were taken- everything one would need to practice one's faith was gone. This was two nights ago.

Our characters inquire as to the identity of the dead priests End'hin have been speaking with. One was a priest of Apep, an Egyptian god sometimes called the snake god of darkness; and the other was a Thrall of Sobek, another Egyptian god but with a crocodile head. Both indicate under interrogation there is a ‘bomb’ or a ‘final revenge’ that has not yet been utilized in Paola.

It was getting late and our characters take rest at the Bards College. During this time Carlo has a vivid dream of being inside IL-Kataniz estate in Zebbug. Carlo clearly sees Chomson living a real nightmare; struggling as blood rolls from his eyes and nose, then suddenly a sucker lined tentacle appears and invades Chomson's head trying to farm information from the merchant about our characters. Carlo sees Chomson resisting but in the end survives the encounter but loses the fight. It is then Carlo wakes.

The next morning we learn that, for the most part, the People’s Trail has been continued since the major names have escaped. Marco, Jabari, Lermang, and Evagara head to the Bonded Mind to look over the ship and be ready to sail in a few days. Carlo and Lete make a visit to Cian and find him recovering from a negative energy attack but is relieved to see us. We brief the Finnish priest of our recent trip to Zebbug; this was followed by his first hand retelling of the attack on the Bard’s College. They came in an overwhelming force and he was unprepared. Carlo asked Cian’s feelings on End'hin and by all accounts what happened to End'hin was unfortunate but plausible. After some additional questions and sharing what we learned from End'hin we find out Cian had heard of the Thrall of Sobek but thought he operated out of Hagar Qim.

Meanwhile Lex would find his way to the Boxer Safehouse that morning disguised as usual and about a block from his destination he is spotted by local sneaks Kiley and Riley. Lex notices both attempts at pickpockets but after an attempt at a complement Lex is funally recognized and before long Lex is holding palaver with the Boxers. Here Wally tells Lex that it was in fact the Boxers who cleared out Rudjek’s warehouse and not the Egyptians. There has been attempts at recovering the items by what looks like a skeletal knight with supernatural help. Some of the items taken are a book of names of ships; personal names as well as books of renderings of people likely enemies of the Egyptians. Lex tells them about the Final Revenge and immediately Wally indicates that what Lex is referring to is a sarcophagus that remains in the warehouse. They have separated some of the loot they did obtain in a dry room and in a couple of bags of holding.

Besides the skeletal knight there was seen what is described as a dread wight gargoyle. J  Lex takes time to look through some of the stolen Egyptian items. A variety of Egyptian bibles for the different gods and were the Egyptians planned on placing priests. A dread tome detailing mummification processes; a book of monsters native to Egypt; as well as ledgers and logs, and finally information on valuables kept in Birzebbuga, an Egyptian holding town that avoided entering Malta through Paola and the Seven Churches. Finally, the book with the rendering of Naxxar also contains a rendering of Loshe and many others in Naxxar’s inner circle. Eventually Lex finds a letter detailing an entire ships hold of items they are seeking, a ship we are familiar with containing the funerary times and something highly valuable contained in each gold statuary akin to a phylactery or soul receptacle. Paulie had sold three in Bugibba and Lex learns there are two others in the safe house dry room. Lex tells Wally that some of the leaders of Bugibba are now tengu.

In the dry room there is little room for maneuvering but eventually Wally produces a statue that looks like a snake headed god *Apep and the other with a crocodile head *Sobek, a direct correlation to the dead priests Endhin was questioning. We intuit there are 13 gold statues in all one for each egyptian god in the pantheon. Besides the two statues there are other commodities that can easily be traded off; weapons, spices and minor magic.

Meanwhile Marco, Jabari, Lermang, and Evagara arrive at the docks to find some of our crew talking to the crew of the Apple Baron. Here our characters find that there was an attempt to mark the Bonded Mind with an Egyptian mark. This also occurred during the attack that saw the Apple Baron taking on survivors from the Bailiwick. The captain of the Bailiwick had a similar instance as End'hin, disappearing from the deck, and was falling from a great height into the water. The Apple Barron first found the Captain of the Bailiwick and, on its return to Paola began picking up its crew members and eventually when they were coming back- happened across End'hin.

Searching below the water line Jabari and Marco find some minor damage on the Bonded Mind but nothing major, the crew doesn’t believe the Bonded Mind was not singled out because most ships in Paola experienced similar events. After some thorough searching Jabari gives each crew member a 10 gold wartime bonus.

Elsewhere in Paola Carlo and Lete arrive at Borg house to find it broken and empty; it is clear that there was a battle here. A local citizen named Stright indicates there was a battle here the night of the attack and does not know the ware bouts of the past occupants. Carlo scans the area mentally looking for survivors. We find most personal belongs have been collected but we also find the bodies of Maas and Cral; killed by unknown energy draining. Carlo believes they may have headed to Dingli Cliffs. We decide to take the bodies to the Bard’s College before Stright offers to help as a former skilled combatant for Dom Mintoff. He takes interest in Carlo’s mental disciplines as a first level monk.

Carlo, Lete and Stright  take the bodies of Maas and Cral to Cian and learn their souls have been corrupted by negative energy drain and all that’s left is to burn their bodies. From there we head to the Golden Horn.

Para Sebek-Em-Of

Around four in the afternoon our characters reunite at the Golden Horn when Lex informs the rest of us about the Egyptian statues, the dooms day device and the skeletal knight attacking the safehouse. Our characters decide to stake out the safehouse and lie in wait for this skeletal knight that we assume is coming for the two Egyptian statues of Apep and Sobek.

At the safehouse we learn that each time the skeletal knight was preceded by a mist that settles in the area and that it just appears. While our characters wait Wally is going to relocate some individuals to other safehouses.

At around half past ten when a rolling mist begins to settle on the city block as well as several pockets of magical darkness begin to form. It dosent take long to defeat the skeletal warrior but we learn the creature must be dealt with one on one.

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.

Malta Session 35: 05/03/2018 Babylonian Dreamin', Heckle and Jeckle, and Slag Giants

Ancient Nogamon

We begin this week’s session three days after our character’s teamwork battle against the Black Druid Tree and two other druids, a gnome and a troll; as well as a tribe of gnolls, a tribe of ogres and five trolls. Each defeated over the coarse of the days.

Our characters are successful in freeing Nogamon and five others we later learn are refugees from Bugibba; a couple of tengu; as well as two Babylonian Dreamin' inquisitors, each from their honeyed prisons.

During this time we learn of other dangers during our battle with the mentioned ogre tribe who feared a ‘brain sucker’ and a ‘black elf’ somewhere nearby. That's when our characters realize the Black Druid's roots go very deep and into the underdark and likely the source of the tree’s taint.

For an hour after freeing Nogamon, the centaur rambles openly in a dream-state, answering truthfully any questions put to him in long form. Jabari tests the truth drug-like effect of the honey prison: Why are evil dragons barred from the Evening Isles? After a broad meandering answer, Jabari comes away with a great Dragon’s name and a date in ancient history.

Eventually Nogamon eventually awakens from his dreamlike euphoria and will confirm the Black Druid does come from the under dark and further explains that Malta, once apart of, did in fact break off from the Evening Isles ages ago and that Sundering cut off previous access to the Underdark, save for Malta. The centaur suspects the Black Druid's spirit had achieved a state whereby he/she could store their soul into a phylactery, which was this tree until our characters came along. Overtime the blighted tree began to awaken and influenced the immediate area and attract followers and monsters.

It was not long after when our characters turn our attention to the Babylonians, where we learn that one of them: Osch is actually a servant of Queic, a ranking 'Blue Scale'; most of the following information comes from a euphoric Queic...

We learn Queic's commanding officer is an inquisitor in Bugibba and Queic's assignment was to locate Nogamon because the Green Faith was the only faith they couldn’t infiltrate. Queic hoped to expose Nogamon to various poisons in order to weaken the centaur so that it would appear Nogamon had died of old age. Queic explains the tengu are utilized to take the place of priests and ranking clergy throughout Malta. In Bugibba their plan is to convert the priestess but in all situations tengu infiltration is only temporary until a dragon agent can rise to popularity. They had trouble however with infiltrating the Finnish and Norse faiths as they proved difficult to impersonate.

Their endgame: overtime the people of Malta would recognize that Tiamat is the true faith and eventually Malta itself would be converted. Queic reveals to us a series of phrases to indicate hidden and disguised tengu, but our characters do not invest much faith in the phrases because they likely are changed frequently. It is apparent these men and their kind do not trust the tengu either. Personally, Queic doesn’t care for Kassok, two rival individuals in his unit but he shows open disdain for and mistrust for Chomson because of Chomson's casual nature of business dealings with no regard for a higher cause. We learn Chomson has also offered IL-Kataniz's trade routes to the highest bidder and the chance at the Monger Warship on Ta' Fraben Island.

Brudiphan

Lete brings up the individual known as Brudiphan, this causes a reaction from Queic followed by a warning and comfirmation on Brudiphan’s hatred for Naxxar.

Brudiphan is in control of a couple of Murders of tengu and is known to have under dark connections. We learn Brudiphan has likely has taken on a permanent alias and is suspected to be one of the leaders in Cirkewwa as well as one of the Crime Lords of Hagar Qim. Zallas is in fact a fabrication of Brudiphan and his group. Brudiphan and his minions are in fact a resource for the dragon collaborators.

Eventually we uncover Queic's equipment: cloak of resistance +1, a ring of protection +1, and a blue scale amulet of electricity resistance, poisoner’s gloves, a master work weapon and poison components.

We leave it to Nogamon to decide the fates of the two inquisitors who then decides to reincarnate these Babylonians into trees- but he refuses to end their current lives. That responsibility was welcomed by Jabari who kills them. The same courtesy however will not be extended to the tengu,  and at that Nogamon will depart our company in search for his son at Gamon’s grove outside of Zebbug.

Turning our attention to the tengu we refer to as Heckle and Jeckle. Our characters learn that Heckle was stung by the bees of unusual size and was helplessly grounded while Jeckle was captured in honey mistaking it for amber. We learn these two are part of Brudiphan’s Murder called the Cold Clutch: a group of three tengu generations, distinguished by their blue/grey tipped claws and toes.

The other Murder's name is called the Colony: a large group consisting of twelve tengu generations distinguished by a triangular mark on their beaks. We learn tengu can live to be 120 to 150 years; with some venerable members upwards of 300 years old; or so Brudiphan says.

The tengu maintain a respect for Brudiphan’s affinity for infiltration and magical disguises as well as Brudiphan’s way of seeing through all tengu disguises- thanks to his magical eyes. The tengu seem to be loyal to a point however because tengu have been known to abandon missions for other more exotic discoveries. Lex learns the tengu are masters of magical disguise and gains insight on other tengu murder's disguises: they can be identified by their hands or feet, or the clumsy way a person in question utilizes a weapon or handles a mug of ale. Another way is to look for inaccuracies in the rear of disguises, areas of the body and face that are unseen or cannot be properly reached by the disguised. Tengu also struggle with images from drawings as well as animal forms and sizes that do not conform their own general stature. The hardest change Heckle had attempted was a cat folk, while Jeckle attempted a firbolg once. They outright call the creature impersonating Aulus Daquaretti a doppelganger. Our characters also learn there are six other murders perusing our characters vying for the Egyptians; Brudiphan however sells his services to the Babylonians.

From Heckle and Jeckle we learn our characters attracted Brudiphan's attention 'day one' and these two tengu were ordered to steal our artwork from Garamaldi’s. Brudiphan's individual interest in our characters came after our trip to Hagar Qim. It was also at the same time other groups showed interest in our characters and it expanded from there. Sakar operates in Hagar Qim, is also one of Brudiphan's identities. These two tengu also know to call upon Davos if needed in Hagar Qim.

Lete produces the map found at the cashe and learn half the population of Rebet are tengu but it is noted Brudiphan’s Murders do not use these tunnels as indicated on the map as much as the other groups do as most of them are clumsy fliers and not as good as Brudiphan’s group in the air. We also learn of a Cold Clutch cashe close by. 

Content with what we learned Lete snaps the necks of both Heckle and Jeckle and sets their bird bodies to the torch before we turn our attention to the other five common folk. This is when we learn they are escapees from Bugibba who were looking for Nogamon for help. We give them a choice but eventually direct them to the Halfling village before heading to Zebbug ourselves.

But first, the cashe of equipment Heckle and Jeckle told us about...

As we approach we see a half dozen slag giants exiting opposite cave entrances about fifty feet away who immediately toss boulders in our general direction. Our characters do not advance, choosing to stay together and fight as a team. The battle was tough but with some great teamwork our characters eventually fell each giant one by one. In the caves we find several dead and twisted tengu as well as 5 chests each containing 10k in various amounts of gemstones and coinage.

We pick up next session at the grove of Gamon the green outside Zebbug.