RealmsToowoomba Recap # 91 [RPG]

[4 Eleasis 1372 Continued]

Markus enjoys his day as Kappiyan’s temporary apprentice and manages to charm the old man into sharing stories of his past, causing the two to bond in the process. Considering his day to be a success, Markus decides to reward himself with an evening on the town. He heads to a cheap fest-hall called the Immodest Faun where he exchanges a diamond long hidden in his hat for a pile of gambling chips. After several hours at the roulette and poker tables, Markus has won a little at the former but lost heavily at the latter. The losses put him in a foul mood, and when a fest-hall pleasure companion of indeterminate gender, covered in silver body paint, tries to entice the swordsman into other activities, Markus tells her “maybe it if it was gold paint” before returning to his inn for the evening.

Meanwhile, El Capitan has been seeking his friend Markus without any luck. Nor does he have any luck attempting to locate an underground fighting club. During his journey he comes across a broadsheet which explains that the Ambassador from Thay, Ethur Anszim, narrowly survived a brutal assassination attempt.  Still desirous of a night on the town, El Capitan decides to head towards a tavern for a drink. When he arrives, he finds himself caught in a case of mistaken identity – the owner of the tavern believes him to be an exterminator, summoned to deal with the ‘enormous’ rats in the basement. Bemused, El Capitan introduces himself as Grimjaw the Exterminator and tells the desperate barkeep that he will see to the rat; all he requires is time alone in the basement with the casks of alcohol. He heads downstairs and begins to pour himself a drink, only to find himself surrounded by giant rats almost two feet in length!  One leaps from the top of the row of casks and leaps onto El Capitan’s head, scratching and biting the Cat-Man’s face.  The well-trained duelist maintains his composure, however, and draws his scimitars to eviscerate his attackers.  As he works, he hears a whistling sound coming from somewhere in the basement and the last of the rats seems to respond before he kills it. He investigates and finds a large hole in the wall, leading into a darkened tunnel. He moves several ale barrels to block the hole and tells the grateful barkeep that he dealt with the problem, receiving a small coin-purse in return for his efforts.

The Bronzefeather siblings spend the evening in their sewer hideaway. 

In the Dalelands, Cain and Mellia Nightflower have teleported to the Oracle’s Circle after the debacle of their latest attempted raid on Nesme. Mellia, heavily wounded from the battle, wearily tells her husband that they need a new strategy. Cain sets about healing his wounded wife, noting that he finds it odd that once again the defenders seemed to know just when and where they would be arriving. As their spells of invisibility wear off, several children note the arrival of the newcomers and run for ‘the Headmaster’. Just as a figure emerges from the tower, Mellia’s ring once again causes her to lapse into a deep slumber. Luckily, Cain is able to react in time to prevent her from falling. Seeing that the person heading towards them is not Gideon, but rather Mellia’s rival Procul, Cain rudely shoves past him to carry Mellia up to her former quarters in the tower. When Mellia wakens a few moments later she is very confused as to how she got there, eventually realizing that her magical wedding band must be impact her. When Cain explains that it is a ring of sustenance, Mellia puts two and two together and realizes that her pregnancy must be taxing the ring’s abilities, resulting in her fits of narcolepsy.

Speaking to some students in the hallway, Mellia and Cain are surprised to learn that Gideon is not at the Oracle’s Circle because he has taken a leave of absence, placing Procul in charge. The adventurers reluctantly climb to the Headmaster’s Office, now undergoing redecoration, to speak to Procul. Procul divulges that Gideon has been in contact with transmutation experts in Cormyr and has gone to Suzail in an effort to learn of a way to reverse Allia’s  transformation into glass. Futher, Procul implies that the Board of Trustees may not wish Gideon to resume his position, and that even if it does, Gideon may not want to return. Procul also notes that Hestia remains in place in her position as a hidden agent within Darkhold. The conversation between Procul and Mellia is tense with neither taking pains to disguise their dislike for each other, and Cain doing his best to intimidate Procul at every turn. At the close of the conversation, Mellia says she is grateful for Procul’s efforts to help Allia, but she expects him to be more polite in future. For his part, Procul sneers that perhaps Mellia should focus her efforts on retrieving her daughter herself, rather than relying on others to do it for her. 

Since Procul gleefully informed her that her former quarters are being transformed into a map room, Mellia retrieves her personal effects and arranges to have them stored. She and then conjures a mansion on the grounds of the Oracle’s Circle. Inside, she and Cain discuss what to do next, with Mellia noting that there is little reason to bring the others to the Dalelands if Gideon is absent. Mellia contacts Gideon and he tells her to scry on him if she needs to teleport to his location. Mellia goes in search of Liliath the spell-wracked who knows the spell of scrying. She and Cain find the woman in a summoning circle, consorting with a bound demon!. Cain hears Liliath speaking in Abyssal trying to force the demon through dark blood magick to tell her how to save Allia. The demon reluctantly confirms that the death of the one who imprisoned the girl will set the child free. With her task complete, Liliath releases the demon and collapses. Cain heals her and thanks her in Abyssal. 

Cain and Mellia head to the tower’s library where Mellia locates books that provide her with enough information to teleport to a specific location in Suzail when Gideon arrives there. They then return to the mansion where Mellia beings to show signs of melancholy. She sadly informs her husband that even though she hates Procul, he isn’t wrong – she feels like a terrible mother, one with no options and no good choices. She feels pulled in many directions, knowing that she can’t give up on Allia, or Nesme but every time she places herself in dangerous situations she also risks the lives of their unborn twins. Cain tells his wife that he does not like to think about the terrible things that could happen. Instead, he counsels her to choose a path and stick with it. 

[5 Eleasis 1372]

El Capitan awakens in the gutter after a long night enjoying the pleasures of Waterdeep. Deciding that he would have better luck gathering information from people if he enhanced his appearance, he purchases a cloak of charisma. Wearing the stylish new cloak, he struts into the traveller’s hostel and finds Ralkin and Shiro having breakfast. Shiro tells El Capitan that she intends to hunt down a group of wererats in the Waterdeep sewer system. She asks if he would be interested in assisting her, but he declines, telling her that he’s never heard of giant rats and does not travel to dark places with people he does not trust. Soon after, they are joined by Urist who bemoans her inability to track down Markus. 

In the Dalelands, Mellia and Cain awaken and she contacts Gideon via sending. She tells her friend to let her know when he reaches Suzail and she will meet him at a well-known monument. Meanwhile, Cain contacts Hestia for more insight into her message about Mellia’s pregnancy. Though he emphasizes the need for a brief message, confined to the word limit, Hestia again is cut off, though she does manage to pass along a few more words. Upon questioning, Cain tells his wife that he is baffled by what Hestia has said. He writes down two words on a piece of paper and gives it to Mellia: tremble-womb. Mellia, recognizing this is a very serious condition known primarily to mid-wives, says nothing to her husband. Instead, she asks him to transport them back to Waterdeep and he complies.

When the Nightflowers join the others at the hostel Mellia informs them that there is no point in leaving Waterdeep now. They can complete their preparations for Nesme in the city. She also suggests that she has a way to draw Markus out of hiding. Mellia casts a sending to Markus, informing him that she ‘has a present for him.’  He immediately heads for the hostel to join the others. 

When Markus arrives, Urist is thrilled to see him, and explains that she took care of that “salty wench” Bettina with a “traditional dwarven challenge.” Markus says that he can always rely on Urist to act like a dwarf. Mellia hands over the package to Markus, but cautions him that she still believes it is likely to be a trap. However, when Markus learns the gift was passed along by his Marauders, he is convinced it is genuine. His face falls though when he reads the accompanying note which purports to be from his father, Markus Kassul II, informing him that Drake (Markus’ highly-esteemed instructor in fencing) has died and wished for Markus to have the item in the box. Inside the box lays a rapier with  a strange bone-like hilt.  While Markus is explaining to the others who Drake was, Urist reaches for the sword to hand it to Markus.  The second she does, however, the face of Villiam Teale (the former first ranked student at the duelling academy  who lost his position due to Markus) manifests and proclaims revenge.  From the sword’s pommel, a strange tentacle chews into Urist’s palm and up her arm until reaching the inside of the dwarf’s skull!  Suddenly, though Urist tries to resist, the sword begins to strike out at all who are nearby. 

The next moments are tense as the adventurers try various techniques to resolve the situation. Mellia uses magic to try to dispel the sword’s effects to no avail. Nor can she sense any kind of individual mind behind the weapon. Cain takes up a defensive position and prepares himself to destroy Urist if necessary. Shiro has similar plans, observing the dwarf carefully to study her weaknesses. Ralkin takes things a step futher, actually shooting at Urist with his bow, to Markus and El Capitan’s dismay. The two swordsmen, for their part, attempt to sunder the weapon but are unable to shatter the blade. Markus spots the tentacle as Urist frantically tries to detach herself from the hilt. He strikes at it – but the result is intense pain and wounds to Urist. After a few frantic seconds, the group realizes that the sword attacks only those who are next to its wielder. Everyone moves back and the attacks cease. Mellia notes that powerful magic will be needed to stop such an item – more powerful than she possesses. Knowing that the Watch has been called by others in the hostel, and mindful of the magistrate’s command that she and Cain not be associated with any more trouble, she advises Markus to seek help before withdrawing with her husband. Ralkin follows and Shiro shadows her brother. El Capitan and Markus remain, with the former sliding a beer across the floor to Urist as they wait to see what will happen next. 

Moments later, when the Watch arrives, the fragile peace is shattered. The Watchmen do not believe Urists’ claims of a cursed blade and they attack her when she fails to drop the blade as ordered. Markus and El Capitan defend her until Markus bravely grabs the swordblade with his bare hand and pulls it far enough away from Urist’s palm to expose the tentacle to the Watch Civilar. Finally believing the tale of a revenge-fuelled plot, the Civilar has his men move back and summons a Watch-wizard. Meanwhile, Urist, with Markus’ encouragement, decides to see if knocking herself unconscious will cause the blade to detach. Though she successfully knocks herself out, the blade remains in a ready position. Sometime later, a wizard arrives and conjures a magical box to transport Urist to a safe location. Markus and El Capitan arrange to accompany her. 

Watching this spectacle from a nearby tavern, Mellia notes to the others that this will not endear the kenku race to Markus. Shiro states her intention to continue her pursuit of the wererats in the sewers and enquires whether the others would care to accompany her. Once again, all decline, with Mellia citing her weak stomach and Ralkin stating that he would never raise a hand against a rat. Mellia and Cain agree to keep an eye on Ralkin and defend him should he be attacked again. When Shiro leaves, Mellia asks about Shiro’s interest in the sewers though Ralkin doesn’t offer much information in reply. 

Mellia and Cain fill Ralkin in on how badly their raid on Nesme went the day before. They talk about a new strategy and their desire to devote themselves to planning for a larger raid. To that end, Mellia asks Ralkin if he could use Cain’s blacksmithing skills to help him build traps for Nesme. Ralkin is quick to accept the offer, though he secretly knows that he has all the parts that he needs. The trio head off in search of a forge to rent and quickly find one, though to Ralkin’s disgust their new landlords are gnomes – his most hated enemies. Mellia tells Cain that he shouldn’t worry any longer about Hestia’s message, telling him that everything is fine and she will handle it from now on. She then does her best to avoid eye contact with her husband. Since Cain, convinced that Mellia is upset with him, is doing something similar, both find reasonable success. Once the forge is rented, Ralkin notes that he needs to find a library where he can research a new spell and they set off together to locate one. 

Shiro makes her way to a sewer tunnel. Flying cautiously and with her sharp eyes peering into the darkness, she notices a strange film completely covering the passage forward. Moving back she draws her bow and fires several arrows, causing the film to sink slowly to the floor. Flying over it, she quickly dodges when a tentacle emerges from the film to attack her. With her ability to fly, she is able to avoid it and continues into the darkness alone.

Meanwhile, as they travel in a slow wagon with the box holding the unconscious Urist, Markus and El Capitan swap stories, each doing his best to show up the other, adding more and more outrageous elements to otherwise true tales. When Urist awakens, she is relieved that Markus is nearby but tells him to be careful, noting that she would never forgive herself if she hurt him again. When they arrive at the guard-post, the wizard dismisses the conjured box and Urist finds herself in an open air cage that will keep her from hurting anyone. Markus explains the situation to the wizard and Urist describes the sensation of the tentacle travelling up her arm and into her head. Taking Markus and El Capitan aside, the wizard speculates that removing the blade could result in Urists’ death. Markus is firm in his belief that something must be done, suggesting that the wizard investigate what he believes to be the blade’s extra-planar origins. The Watch-wizard agrees to seek out a colleague with such knowledge, but says it might take days.  Later, Markus tells El Capitan that he’s tempted to return to Silverymoon and hunt down Villiam Teale once and for all. A short time later, the two swordsmen become bored and decide to amuse themselves with a practice duel.  Sadly though, the practice is cut short when El Capitan is accidentally laid-low by the flat of Markus’ sword.