Monday 16 November 2020

Directions

 Last week the players closed off a chapter in the on-going Swords & Wizardry campaign when they killed the Rat King. He had been a nemesis for about 14 sessions. I have a large adventure planned but I did not want to force the direction of the players so I put out some hints for several short adventures. Some of which would bring clues for the bigger adventure. For this session, the players hit on two of the hooks and decided to go after both of them. Both adventures are recognizable re-writes of adventures published by Creations' Edge Games.

I am making maps for the Roll20 interface when we play. I do not think I would have done this if this was a face-to-face game. Battle maps really help when playing in Roll20. A lot of the time I just have to describe the main features of an area and add some mood. The players can see on the map if there is something of interest. But this also means a lot of preparation time, making maps and this necessarily means that the choices will be limited.


Session 28: Bell, Book, and Candle.

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Lantosh (Human Fighter NPC), Dag Icefoot (Dwarf Fighter NPC).

As the session opens the heroes are resting after killing the Rat King in the sewers beneath the town of Edgerton. Lakima hands the scroll tube they found on the body of the cleric to Domago who opens it and finds a note.

“I am staying at the Duchess Maria Inn just outside town.

I need a safe hiding place in town that is hidden but close to my target’s home.

My patron pays well and you owe me.

Contact me soon - Tamea.”

The note details contact between the Necromancer Talmea Pak who they have tangled with before and the Rat King. It also suggests she is in Town and planning to kill their patron Malyn the wizard. Before leaving, Lakima comments they need a trophy to prove that the Rat King is dead. Domago says that no one in town knew what the Rat King looked like anyway. This gives Lakima an idea and he asks Carric to cut the head off of a dead wererat which is much easier to carry than the enormous Rat King. The gold, silver, and even copper coins are scooped into bags and they haul everything out into the daylight. Local merchants and townspeople are pretty shocked to see them emerge from the sewers. Carric pulls the rat head from a sack and openly waves it around in the Low Market letting people know that the Rat King is dead.

Everyone returns to the Chapter House. Lakima lets everyone know he is going to take the note from Talmea to Malyn. Lakima arrives at the Apothecary and finds that Malyn has a new young apprentice called Roberto. He shows Malyn the note. Malyn excitedly tells Lakima to head over to the Inn immediately. Lakima asks about the pay and Malyn becomes annoyed. Then he decides he has had enough of being held prisoner in the shop. He states, “I will take care of this myself!” and then he vanishes. The door opens and closes. Lakima shrugs to Humbert and leaves.

Carric heads over to the Duchess Maria Inn to do a little snooping. He takes in the people in the room looking for any sign of Talmea. But he does not see anyone that matches her description. After a few hours, there's a commotion upstairs in the rented rooms. A guest complains that there is a ghost moving through the rooms’ opening doors. The staff manages to convince the guest to go back to his room. Carric stays until early in the morning when he is asked to leave. He returns to the Chapter House.

The group meets over breakfast. Carric mentions the strange occurrence at the Inn. Lakima mentions his conversation with Malyn. Over breakfast, the manservant Huntley repeatedly goes to the door to chase off callers. Lakima gets up to answer the next door knock and finds a man begging. Drawn by word that this is a place the poor can come for hand-outs. Lakima threatens to curse the man with magic and chases him off. Carric decides to head off to learn more about the hangings. Lakima places a note on the door to discourage beggars.

Carric heads over to the Low Market and meets with the street urchins who roam the area. He tells them about a crate full of daggers he left in the Rat King’s Lair and lets them know the Rat King is dead. Carric asks Maik to call all of the urchins together later in the day.

Back at the Chapter House there is a knock at the door. Lakima waves off Huntley and goes to the door to chase off another beggar. But on the doorstep is a young librarian from the Library of Antiquity located in Edgerton. The librarian introduces himself as Amras. He tells Lakima that the Librarians need the help of the Company of the Black Dragon and asks them to come to meet with the Head Librarian. Lakima promises to bring the proposal to his comrades.

Eathwund heads out intent on finding a better shield. He takes Dag with him who tells him he knows just the place. The smith who made his Dwarven Ax. The smith is a human but his work is good enough to pass for Dwarven. They head together to Cromly’s Smithy. At the smithy, they find Cromly is sullen and withdrawn. Dag shrugs and tells Eathwund that he has never seen the smith like this. Cromly hears Eathwund is looking to improve his shield. He nods and asks if he is a member of the watch. Eathwund tells Cromly about the Company of the Black Dragon. Once Cromly hears that he is an adventurer for hire his tone becomes very excited. He is in desperate need of some adventurers. He needs some Rock Ape teeth. Six to be exact for a commission piece and he needs it in a hurry. He explains that he entered a contest to bring attention to his shop. The Baron Vorloi is commissioning a ring. He never expected to win. He does not normally make rings. But his design won. The jewel crafters and silversmiths in town were outraged. The problem is his design needs Rock Ape teeth. He does not have any. He tells Eathwund that he will pay 6,000 gold for the teeth. He needs them within a week. Dag immediately accepts the commission, then realizes it is not his place. Eathwund tells Cromly that he will have to check with the full crew. The conversation then returns to the shield improvements Eathwund is hoping for. Cromly tells him he will enchant the shield for 850 gold and it will be ready tomorrow.

Lakima, Eathwund, Carric, Dag, Lantosh, and Domago meet at the Chapter House and discuss what they should do next. No one has seen Kal or Grimble since they were paid the previous day. Lakima learns of the commission for Rock Ape teeth. The pay looks really good but no one knows where to find rock apes. Lakima suggests that the librarians might be able to help with this. So they agree to take both jobs. Carric and Lakima argue about paying the bounty they offered for information on the Rat King to the urchin Snipe. Carric is concerned it will bring more trouble to the urchins than it will help. Lakima is more concerned with the reputation of the Dragons. Carric meets with the urchins, finding they have taken over Fleetwing Stables. He asks them what they would do with 100 gold. Maik answers that they share everything. Many of the urchins seem unsure about that statement. Carric gives the 100 gold bounty to Snipe. He suggests the gang buy the building they are currently squatting in. He counsels them about being careful with the newfound wealth.

Once everyone returns they head over to meet the Head Librarian Dellik. He tells them that a Librarian named Marcus was cast out when he was found to be studying proscribed books. When he left he told them he placed a curse on Bell, Book, and Candle. They did not think much of it at the time but the next day when librarians entered they were attacked by phantoms and two were killed. One Librarian escaped and locked the doors. Now they are locked out. He asks the adventurers to remove the cursed items from the library with as little damage as possible. The heroes agree to do the job the next morning. They need time to prepare. He can only manage to pay 500 gold but he does offer the services of the library. Lakima asks the Head Librarian about Rock Apes. The Head Librarian does have some information and a Librarian named Vexius is called into the room who is an expert on magical creatures. Vexius mentions a few details of Rock Apes and tells of a recent incursion of Rock apes in a copper mine nearby.

The next morning the group head out to the Library with Amras. At the Library they find the doors still locked. Amras unlocks the doors and explains the library layout to them and suggests where the items might be located. They were kept in the Hall of Magic. He also asks them to keep an eye out for the caretaker Robin.

They enter the library. In the first hall, they see the bodies of the two librarians who were killed. The shelves extend to the ceiling full of books and scrolls. There are signs of disturbance. Books and loose sheets of paper lie scattered across the floor. The group head to their left with Carric in the lead. In the first room, they enter they see a lit candle in a silver holder floating in the air at a height of three feet. Carric spots three animated shadows in the shape of humans that fly toward the group. The shadows move directly through the sunlight entering the hall from the ceiling without any noticeable effect. As Carric and Dag approach two more shadows emerge from the candle. Five shadows face the heroes. Domago tries to turn them and nothing happens. The shadows also ignore his Protection from Evil spell. The shadows attack and Lantosh is hit and drained of Strength. Carric rushes the candle and tries to pull a sack over it but the candle burns right through the sack. Lakima yells for everyone to disbelieve the shadows but it does not seem to work. Lakima casts Atanzabar’s Acrid Finger on the candle but it just splatters off - some of the acid striking Carric. As Lakima approaches the candle another shadow emerges. Just when things start to get desperate, Lakima pinches out the candle with his fingers. The candle drops to the tiled floor and the shadows vanish. Everyone is relieved and a little mystified.

Lantosh and Eathwund check in the Caretakers’ room and find it empty. They find evidence that the caretaker was working on improving his language skills but nothing more. They continue on into the next hall. As they enter the Hall of Magic a gold bell raises up from a desk and rings out a sharp, ringing, tone three times. Glass vials in several of the adventurer's packs shatter. Magical potions drain out of packs. More importantly, Eathwund and Lantosh’s armor cracks and bends permanently damaged. Carric rushes forward and stuffs cloth around the bell’s clapper and puts the entire bell in his pack. As they are talking Carric is startled as he feels something brush past his shoulder. Soon several of the adventurers report near misses with something. Until Dag is struck and Eathwund feels something strike his shield. Lakima empties his pieces of chalk on the desk and yells at Domago to crush it and throw it on the invisible attacker. Domago crushes the chalk with his mace and gathers up a handful. When he is struck he tosses the chalk in the air. The chalk falls over a roughly human-sized shape. Everyone immediately attacks the shape and the invisible stalker collapses to the floor.

Lakima tells everyone to look for the Copper Book. He suspects it might be in this chamber and created the invisible stalker. But the copper book is not in the Hall or even the next hall. They find it - or it finds them in the Hall of Monsters. The book flies out of a bookshelf and it is immediately recognized as it has copper covers. The book opens and more books fly off of the shelves to the copper book. Soon a roughly humanoid shape has formed - a Book Golem. The golem lumbers towards Eathwund and attacks. Hitting Eathwund with both fists badly injuring him. Domago rushes to Eathwund’s side to cast Cure Light Wounds. With the Book Golem concentrating on Eathwund Carric and Lakima are able to attack from behind. Lakima attacks with the Staff of Striking. Carric decides to try to close the copper book. He leaps on the Golem and climbs up its back. He grabs the book covers and tries to close the book but it will not budge. The golem fights off Carric and throws him down to the ground.



The fight continues, the heroes surround the Book Golem, and with every hit, books fall off the golem or pages fall out of the books. The golem continues to track Carric and strikes the elf with both fists. Carric is smashed to the floor battered and bloodied. As other heroes step up Carric drags himself out of the fray. Finally, Lakima gets the final hit with the Staff of Striking. With a flash of power, the books collapse in a pile on the floor. Lakima grabs the Copper book and ties it shut with some cloth.

With all three cursed items in hand, the heroes start to head for the exit. They keep their eyes open for the caretaker Robin and find him hiding in the Feywild Hall behind some barrels. They take him to the exit to meet with Amras. After a brief conversation with Amras they head back to meet with the Head Librarian. He is overjoyed to hear that the threat has been removed. He does inquire about the cursed items but Lakima assures him they will take care of them. The Head Librarian does not have the gold he promised yet but he does make good on the promise of providing information about the Rock Apes. There is supposed to be some in a Copper Mine at the village of Whetwhistle about a day's ride from Edgerton along the Crescent River.


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