13A:Play/2 Steinar does the Charlie Work

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Starring: 📜Elistheren, Epsilon, 🐾 Kaelon, 🌲 Qistis, Steinar, 📚 Annalana
Guest Starring: Elviro
Challenge: Sahuagin necromancer, Ghouls (mix of Sahuagin and human), and Skeletal Hounds; Negoiating over the Hellmouth with Gold Wyrm, Crusaders, and Archmage reps;
Location: Eldolan (Demon Coast, near horizon)
Date Played: 2016 November 08

Suggested titles

• "Something smells fishy in the cemetery"
• "Steinar does the Charlie Work"
• "Rats"
• "Arriving at Eldolan"

Closing the Portal

📜Elistheren

I think the largest problem with evil cultists is that they don't keep good notes. How am I supposed to learn about this ritual? And the whole thing where the party "helps" by throwing blood into the ritual altar may or may not have actually made things worse. We don't know! Still, the portal is closed, but let this be a lesson to aspiring ritualists: DOCUMENT YOUR PROCESS.

Epsilon

🐾 Kaelon

🌲 Qistis

Steinar

'... [T]he hungry mosquito god then lept to the next villager.

"Ah more food, more blood," it cooed.

"No, take my blood," yelled Mowanda, opening her arms wide.

The mosquito god then lept to Mowanda on it's spindly legs and plunged his face deep into her gut and drank deep. The blood of the willing was so sweet, the mosquito gorged itself until it burst.'

Proverb from the Book of Attalatta ~ A parable on sacrifices and blood rituals

📚 Annalana

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:4] "...and then Qistis' servant rodent brought back a sacrifice that was already without life, so I took my knife and added my own lifeblood to the bowl to aid the ritual. Willing blood helps just about all magic, I figure. Qistis is upset at this but the ritual works and the portal dissolves."

Something Fishy in the Graveyard

📜Elistheren

As a side effect of the wards being down, due to the hellmouth, Sahuagin necromancers visited the cemetery. We tarry long enough to dispatch them. I'm less interested in their rituals, but perhaps I should learn to turn undead?

Epsilon

🐾 Kaelon

🌲 Qistis

Steinar

'Scratch and claw from murky depths

Sahaugans seek those with no more breathes

Creeping in on hallowed eves

With magic no sane magician weaves

Breaking bones

Cracking skin

Let the undead rise begin

Slashing claws

Gnashing teeth

Drag victims below the reef'

Hymn of the Sahaugan from The Trials of Sahalin the Sailor

📚 Annalana

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:5] "As we travel back to the hellmouth see lightning strike the ground and we are agog at how such a thing could happen. The wards of the Dragon Empire prevent such things. We hasten to return to the Hellmouth."

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:6] "Qistis fears the sounds coming from the graveyard. I know that there will be a battle and it is better to face it early before it has a proper chance to gather itself. A battle ensues..."

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:7] "Ahead of us we spy a Sahuagin necromancer and his pets. I draw out a glowing acorn from a pouch marked 'entangle foes, must be close' and use it, fighting from the front and getting the battle started with an edge for my men."

[Book of the Siege of the Deep, the Surface Skirmishes, 100:20] "...my men lay dead on the field and while I cannot feel my leg it still works and so I rise again, with my dead friend Gadrin's sword in my hand, and I step forward to take on the nymph of the enemy."

[Book of the Siege of the Deep, the Surface Skirmishes, 100:24] "...the nymph fell and her body faded away, leaving an acorn in her place. I placed it in my bag, robbing the Elf Queen of a valuable ally and gaining a weapon to defeat scratched out scribble"

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:8] "The battle was fierce. Our initial gain yielded to the foes' greater numbers. Several of a hound's teeth disengaged from its mouth to burrow into my flesh. Out of habit, I kept myself up, calling out to my men—'Kaelon remember the wind as you let your arrow fly'; 'Steinar, you didn't find life just to give it up did you? SHAKE IT OFF BOOK'.

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:9] "The killing blow to the last enemy, a skeletal hound, belongs to Elistheren."

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:10] "Once the battle is done a sapling, an oak sapling, has started to grow where I tossed the acorn. We are all bewildered and I make a note to look up why that might be in the evening when I compile my daily notes."

Hellmouth Negotiations

📜Elistheren

Epsilon

🐾 Kaelon

🌲 Qistis

Steinar

'Keldon, the great paladin of The Great Gold Wurm sat in the bloody field of battle. Zannis, general of the the The Crusader and Ramia, high wizard of The Archmage, both also sat upon the ground, soaked deep with the blood of demons. The three, bitter enemies, were drawn by the call to do the greater good. Though they knew they could never be brother's in arms, they chose to break bread that day. They made the promise to face each other with the fury their patrons called for if they met again, but, on this day, the bonds of battle made them truly a battalion of three.'

Rites of the 8th Age

📚 Annalana

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:11] "Returning to the hellmouth we encounter representatives of the Gold Wyrm, the Crusader, and the Archmage. The robed figures of the Archmage are claiming the mouth and declaring that they can deal with it. While they make me uneasy, I believe they could keep things under control but the other two factions are causing a ruckus."

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 20:12] "I feel a kinship with the Crusaders as we are all seasoned soldiers, and we share war stories. As we bond I start to remind them that there are roles on and off of the battlefield. Sometimes it is best to call in cavalry while other times you let the war mages bomb the hell out of it. They agree to let the Archmages solve this problem."

Getting to Know the City of Eldolan

📜Elistheren

Epsilon

🐾 Kaelon

🌲 Qistis

Steinar

'Dennis raised his rat-stick on high, swatting rats from the path, driving them to the corners, and eventually snuffed their tiny lives. He did this, killing generations that made this burrow their home. His stick was wet with the ichor of the sticky rat blood; clumps of hair stuck to the splinters the year of wear put on the fabled rat-stick. His bloodlust eventually faded, and he looked at the carnage around him. He gave a heavy sign, and wondered aloud, "I wonder if our lives are really more valuable than theirs."'

Cynicism of the Sun

📚 Annalana

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 25:4] "This city has great defenses that they put to use generating tax revenue. It is irksome but I pay the tolls as we move around the city. Kaelon talks of burning it all down and I advise him that it would take a concerted effort, as you would have to assign arsons to each area of the city."

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 25:13] "Qistis and I learned more about the spellcasters after I was mistaken for one while buying journals. The Eldritch masters focus on big rituals and explosive magic and wear blue. The Mythrils focus on magic that can be touched and felt and wear dark gray. The last group is the Arcanists of the Hidden Vale who focus on stealth and illusion and wear only black.

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 25:14] "This last group piques the interest of both Qistis and myself, which shocks Qistis. She questions the veracity of my claims at a childhood as a vagrant but I assure her that my journals are correct."

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 28:24] "Qistis has started the enrollment process for me in the city as a way to gain access to the libraries at those institutions. I consider my current quest to be a better, more honest person and decide that the deception is harmless. An application doesn't force attendance and I have always been interested in magic (as it applies to battles)."

[Book of a Noble Attempt, 28:56] "While in the library we spy a dark-skinned elf and both have the same feelings of uneasiness. I've recently used an item of power from the Elf Queen and would rather not see if she knows and so I keep us unseen while Qistis does her research."