Five Tower Keep Session 20: 12/27/2018 We are Bushwood Applesnook and Word of Kazzurog In The Harbor

It was late afternoon when we catch up with our characters in Lowport on their way to the dwarf merchant Bushwood Applesnook.

Once our characters arrive to the large complex that is Bushwood Applesnook’s; there is a guard tower that overlooks the businesses and stalls where all manner of dwarves are employed. Founded a few hundred years ago by an adventurer of Rappan Athuk- an old dwarf that established the mercantile. At Bushwood Applesnooks each dwarf dresses, speaks and acts like Bushwood Applesnook from old. 

We make our way to the Adventuring Gear Emporium and are greeted by Bushwood Applesnook who invites us to a beautiful upstairs parlor room to broker the sale for items.

Our characters present:

A stone basin made of coldstone. (500 gp)

4 tanned Sythehorn pelts worth 100 gp. (400)

40 croc skins worth 25 gp. (1,000 gp)

20 tusks/horns worth 100 gp (2,000 gp)

30 lbs of young dragon skin (two 15 lbs. pieces) 500 gp

30 lbs. of giant frilled lizard skin 500 gp.

Total: 4,900 gp./ 5 = 980 gp each

50 pearls worth 50 gp. (2,500 gp) bought by troy

50 silver bars worth 25 gp. (1,250 gp) bought by troy

937 gp each

This completes our group transaction.

Stoutwood asks for a referral to an armorer and is referred to Bushwood Applesnook at the Armory Emporium. Alaric expresses interest about a brand new weapon and is referred to the Melee Weapon Forge Emporium and Bushwood Applesnook. However all our characters have weapons and magic to part with towards new weapons and magic; we are all in on the negotiations. Some of our characters hold off on trades, preferring to deal directly with Bushwood Applesnook.

Next our characters head to Bushwood Weaponsnook where Alaric, Drake and Stoutwood conduct their business in weapon trade and with purchases. After fielding a retelling of our adventuring Melderon invites each and every Applenooks we encounter back to the Banana Tree Embassy for a complete retelling of our character's story by Bosley.

Next we head to Bushwood Armorsnook at the Armor Emporium who at first mistakes Ginger for a half dragon. Eventually a deal is made to craft Ginger a magical mithril shirt of light fortification (half-down is collected 2,600 gp to be ready in 3 weeks). After each transaction our characters are each given a free meal token at Bushwood Applesnook’s Pub and Grub.

Next we head to Bushwood Wizardsnook and the Magic Emporium. Here magic lights up the store. Here we find an Elder Applesnook that sets up downtime sessions for Mesha (who is having bracers made) and Melderon (for his mythic display).

It was late night when our characters arrive, along with all our hirelings, to Bushwood Applesnook’s Pub and Grub to find a mix of 30 dwarves and 30 others plus Bushwood Wenchsnooks working tables in a raucous night. Bosley takes the opportunity to retell the Black Parrot Company adventuring stories and earns 18 gold.

One thing dominates the talk around the bar- Kazzurog is on a ship in the harbor of Lowport on a trading mission! In fact there is a trading fleet here as well. The night goes on with incident.

During the night those of us who do not sleep in a rope trick are visited with horrible dreams of death from hags and giants.

 

Thethmommon

Drake wakes first and eventually sees a procession of Egyptians carrying aloft a young adult bald man in a fine sedan chair outside the Banana Tree Embassy. It is here Drake encounters Thethmommon ‘the vizier’ who comes across haughty and entitled. He comes to Drake seeking details of his travels. Thethmommon explains his is a cousin of a wealthy Egyptian trader- his royal bloodline was displaced by dragon usurpers in Egypt, quite frankly feels that he has been expelled from paradise and seeks to join Drake's cause. 

Meanwhile Alaric makes use of his bridge pass, gets a rickshaw and heads to the Warrior’s Guild and meets a recruiter and is delighted to learn Alaric is looking for a capable sword. The woman spends time with Alaric and eventually they come up with the idea to organize a tournament (50 gp) for Alaric to choose a hireling. The tournament will be in ten days just before the full moon Immewrath fight club.

Next we enter into Downtime where Mesha plans on spending much of this fantasy time at the church going missionary style. Alaric retrains three feats. Drake looks forward to fight in the ring of Immewrath and gains his mythic feat. Stoutwood retrains a spells known, retrains with Mesha with the Greatsword and works with Ginger in swimming thereby giving her a 30 swim speed (Stoutwood gains his mythic feat). Melderon uses each day to his advantage crafting scrolls and exercising his metamagic abilities as well as building relationships toward our Company.

Bosley drops the bomb on us that the Applesnook’s are (also) a thieves guild and that the half-dragons seem to give them a wide breadth. We end the session with this news and character up keep. 

Five Tower Keep Session 19: 12/20/2018 B3at that Pu$$y, Meeting Immewrath, and Heroes of the Market

We start the session deciding what to do with the dead rat folk who had given us the short foot chase through an alley. The creature had no identifying marks bur it had average quality equipment and thieves tools and was infested with ticks. We prop up the dead rat folk body and meander on our way.

We wander for a few hours before discovering a market where we split up looking at the different wares. It was not long when the market took on a stillness alerting us just before spell-enhanced rat folk descend on us. After a few moments of combat our characters notice a hunkered figure in the tallest building watching the battle. Then a short time later many of the rat folk withdraw from combat when the hunkered watcher dropped from his perch and begins speaking with Melderon. The watcher, a half-ogre/half-dragon, claimed to be guarding over his warehouse. Melderon introduces us as merchants of the Black Parrot. The large creature introduces himself as Immewrath. Talk wanes to a fight guild Immewrath is associated with- Attitude Adjustment (aka AA Meetings). We find out the next fight is at the full moon (a few weeks from now).

                           

Mesha gathers the injured around her in order to benefit from channeled healing. Meanwhile, other characters, including Bosley, are searching for magic on the fallen rat folk:

From the deceased:

Magic short sword (3 @ 2,310 gp)

Masterwork hand cross bow (3 @ 400 gp) and 60 bolts (6 gp)

Parcel of potions: 4 CLW, 3 Invisibility, 5 potions of choice for our characters (remove curse- Stoutwood)

Masterwork studded leather (3 @ 175 gp)

Masterwork thieves tools- small sized (3 @ 100 gp)

(Gear total w/o potions: 8,961 gp. Sold to Gammon for 4,480 gp below)

1,000 gp worth of assorted gems

Our characters manage to capture a rat folk thief who claims to not have a boss, he works for the rats! After questions about the mirror image, the creature claims it to be rat magic. He targeted us because we are obviously wealthy. The creature maintains he works for the rats and becomes increasingly irritating. It was Alaric who runs out of patience and kills the rat folk. (His gear is added to the total above)

Drake speaks with Immewrath and wishes to know the most powerful around- Immewrath asks if Drake speaks of the legend of Norae’Rashi? But when it comes to the rat folk, they don’t have a leader and seem to possess rat magic.

From here our characters moved to an area that is dark, dirty and gloomy. An odor emanates from a well-built structure and a sign indicating the supply shop of Gannom Pone. Here finished products of baubles, alchemical supply and a rick-rack of all types. Gannom, a rat folk, leans on a cane and speaks as eloquently as any humanoid.

Melderon inquiries about a miniature gold and mithril shield and we inform him we have things for trade or sale. He tells Melderon to commission his work with an armorer.

Our characters present:

The urn filled with powdered dragon and giant bones.

A masterwork crystal flask with black dragon blood (flask is 150 gp)  

A leather pouch filled with basilisk eyes.

Five steel urns filled with black dragon scales.

An urn with powered ivory

5 pots filled with alchemist glue (50 gp)

10 alchemical troll oils (250 gp total)

A plethora of quarts stones- geodes

Gammon agrees to buy the rat folk gear for half price. (4,480 gp)

As we present our items, Gammon becomes increasingly curious about where these items. In the end he offers us 500 gp each and one amulet of protection of petrification. We don’t like that idea, he then offers our characters 2,000 gp of gems (EACH!) and a potion of our character’s choice. We take that offer.

Rat equipment 4.480 + 1,000 gems = 5480 / 5 = 1096 then add Gammon's offer 2000 is 3,096 gp per character plus a potion. 

Furthermore he has a wish list of alchemical components he informs our characters that he will always buy.

The night eventually stretches before us as we decide to head to the dwarf Applesnook.

Remaining: (possibly for the dwarf)

A stone basin made of coldstone. (500 gp)

4 tanned Sythehorn pelts worth 100 gp. (400)
50 silver bars worth 25 gp. (1,250 gp)

40 croc skins worth 25 gp. (1,000 gp)

20 tusks/horns worth 100 gp (2,000 gp)

50 pearls worth 50 gp. (2,500 gp)

Total: 7,650 gp.

Other skins tanned: 30 lbs of young dragon skin (two 15 lbs. pieces), 30 lbs. of giant frilled lizard skin both of unknown value. 

Five Tower Keep Session 18: 12/13/2018 Banana Tree Embassy and The Black Parrot Mercenary Company

After getting a general layout of Lowport our characters come to find out that the Lowport side has a large community of rat folk but opposite the sink holes, on the other side of the river- Newport, is a solidly built affair upon a wide flat on rock. Half-dragons, in the Lowport side, have evolved into mob-like competition between fierce of crime syndicates.

Holden Torn

We head straight for the junior dock master; Holden Boothe Torn who has heard of our swampy exploits in advance of our arrival. We tell him most of our tale except the parts where the Hags reincarnate victims into giant husbands and the magic of the hags. We intend to establish ourselves as a company out of Lowport to open a charter and to take on hirelings.

Holden expresses concerned about the rise in half-dragons in the swamp but wishes to distance Lowport’s Navy from any involvement. To keep up appearances. He offers our characters 8,000 gold each and an embassy building in the military area as well as badges to cover all tolls and fees. Finally, he has a means of communication with Inskip at Five Tower Keep and leads us to a case of Boots of the Mire which our characters discover, it was Holden who was originally responsible for supplying the boots. 

Holden gives us the name of a dwarf: Bushwood Applesnook who is a merchant in Old Port when it comes to trading the magic our characters are laden down with.

Black Parrot Mercenary Co. 

Next our characters travel to the embassy designated to us: Banana Tree Embasy. Here our characters meet Blake Buffet the major-domo of the manor house. Our characters settle in after meeting the ground's staff and during the night- some of who don’t seek refuge in a rope trick is visited with a nightmare. These characters experience a uniquely different hag night-messenger.

The next morning we encounter Blake receiving a message from an island off the coast that he relays to Holden.

Drake speaks with Lazlo about an adventurer’s warrior guild and is told of a woman named Marta an embittered ex-navy soldier and finds out she attracts martial types who don’t enroll in the Navy- the guildhall in question is located in New Port.

Mesha and Melderon first head to meet Garland Milkwish while the rest of our characters find a nearby pub. Here, Melderon and Mesha tell Garland everything we have encountered thus far (excluding the reincarnation magic exercised by the hags) with the intention of selling or at least appraising our goods. In a display Melderon brings forth the mythic and brings a spell to this world: Anywhere But Here.

Fen Thunderwood

Bosley is introduced to Melderon- Bosley is a causation half-elf diplomat and singer, orator and bard and Melderon's hireling. From there our characters head to Old Port to visit the rat-folk alchemist Gannom Pone then Bushwood the dwarf.

Bosley

Along the way Mesha comes across a human duo a benevolent rabbit farmer as well as a human fighter and soon feels a connection to a man named Fen Thunderwood (Mesha's hireling).

Meanwhile a trio of rat-folk succeed in picking a coin purse from Drake provoking a short chase through the streets. We defeat the rat-folk and end the session. 

Five Tower Keep Session 17: 12/06/2018 Getting to Know The Ranger, Sonayo Joins The Team, and Arrival to Lowport

The Coast Road

We pick up this week's session getting to know Lazlo the Ferration ranger as our characters perform an autopsy on the worm to find undigested magic items. The early twenty’s human ranger is well equipped, impressive by Stoutwood’s estimation including a masterwork fannypack. From the worm Alaric finds an amulet of natural armor +2, Drake: +2 lucern hammer, Mesha: +1 greyflame greatsword, Stoutwood: Shirt of immolation, Melderon: Amulet of protection from petrification; finally Lazlo ends up finding a +1 flaming long sword.

During this, Lazlo laments to us his wolf was cursed by a group hags and ogres (giants?) who attacked his Bravo Company, out of Lowport, on an elephant hunt. Upon further knowledge nature checks Stoutwood discovers the wolf seems to be under a continual fear effect. Mesha works some magic to give the wolf a second chance at a failed saving throw before the ranger resigns to put the animal down. The magic is ineffective against what is now confirmed a curse; however before the animal is lost, Maderon uses mythic power and is able to remove the curse.

This has a positive effect on the wolf and creates a lighthearted moment for all. It was Lazlo’s suggestion to travel together which we eagerly agree to. Lazlo asks several questions, but avoids answering details about himself. Talk moves on to draconic creatures that have been encountered by us and Ferration’s along the river. Mesha confirms the ranger is an evil man. 

"Horrible death to you jerks!"

The travel for the rest of the day is uneventful. We come up on another Pavillion; to this Lazlo has a superstitious reaction and distances himself from any and all agents of the dragon-king. At the end of the day, our characters camp along the road and not in a rope-trick. All throughout the night our characters suffer nightmares of giants and hags in vile ritualistic spell-casting charms. It’s a message of death and promise of a horrible end. In the morning we keep the dreams to ourselves and do not share details with the ranger.

The next day (Day 39) moves at a swift pace and our discourse goes back to the half-dragon influence in the area. There is an old dwarf named Afrum Marblebelt who represents Kazzurog as an Emmisary to Kazzurog in Lowport. There are many embassies in Lowport including one for a race of wizardly minotaurs.

When pressed Lazlo says he was personally looking for whip tail lizards for an alchelmist who will pay for them. We travel throughout the day and eventually get to an intersection where a large militaristic castle guarded by huge half-dragon ogres. Also here is where the Kings road meets with the Coast road and where the Corner Road Stop is located; from here it is only 3 days to Lowport. The Corner Road Stop is like a rest area/swap-meet area of Ferrations and Cat-Folk.  

As we settle in our characters learn that its trade season and word of piracy and banditry along the road is in the air. Eventually we learn that Bravo company will hire just about anyone; and also Stoudwood meets the Cat-Folk female Sonayo- a hireling. Stoutwood learns Sonayo has friends in Lowport, as most Catfolk know each other in town; this is when Stoutwood gives her a mithril chain shirt.

Draco attempts steer talk to dragonic monsters from the swamp; but folk here mostly know of half-dragons in the slums of Lowport and don’t have any other reference to half-dragon monsters.

Meanwhile our characters meander one at a time into the a well-hidden rope trick free from Lazlo’s attention.

The next day we find ourselves traveling with groups of others also on the road heading to Lowport; here along the way we find small communities to finish our day of travel. Day 44 we arrive to Lowport around 1 in the afternoon.

Five Tower Keep Session 16: 11/29/2018 Dragon King's Checkpoint and Meeting Lazlo

We defeat the four owlbear half-dragons in gruesome fashion, noting the eyes swimming in their heads, with the help of Melderon’s summoned lantern archons. After the battle our characters gather 40 of their exotic feathers and a pair of dragon wings (60lbs). Not long after, scavengers in the form of jungle ‘dogs’ as well as other carrion eaters converge on the area.

We continue due east along our course and in a few hours we come to a check point that becomes clearly visible as we approach; beyond that, the large dragon mountain looms. The Pavilion here contains fine furniture, silks, fabrics, and is staffed with winged (ergo half-dragons) kobolds and the usual half-dragon/half-ogres. The road to the check point is similar to the road we are on- smooth maintained.

Passing by we get to within 30 feet where Mesha can detect that each half-dragon are evil. The rest of the afternoon, aside from the distant din of African wildlife, passes without incident. It become apparent that sounds coming from the dragon king side of the road sound larger and meaner.

Day 38- a few hours into the next morning our characters begin to year yelling from the Lowport side of the road, eventually a human voice screams “run, for your life.” The individual is a human of average build and well equipped. Looks like a typical ranger accompanied a black jungle-wolf; he yells that giant bugs and a death worm are on the hunt for him- his name is Lazlo. 

We kill the bugs and the death worm in a surprisingly difficult battle. After the battle our characters cut open the death worm where our characters each find an item of 8000 gp or a +2 weapon.