Date:
Tothsday, 5th of Molivios, 2994 AE
Weather:
Warm, partly cloudy
Player Characters:
Ioannes Grammatikos Byzantios, Archontean cleric of Demma (Demented Avenger)
Uvash Edzuson, Dwarven cleric of Zodarrim (Cosmo)
Vael Sunshadow, Half-Elven mage (Kyle)
Vallium Halcyon, Archontean fighter (Greybrown)
Lacrymosa, Elven mercenary archer (Archon Shiva)
Significant NPCs:
Set cultist
Set acolyte
Alexandros, Set librarian
Gresta, cook
Many formerly enslaved humans, goblins, and beastmen
Many goblins
Lella and the Rippers, Thorcin mercenaries
Galadnor, Half-Elven merchant and spy
Dworm, guard
Horace Trych, Archontean merchant and spy
Varumani ambassadors
Frost giant ambassadors
Basil, Right for Riches employee
Tresti, Rarities Factor wizard
Barnaby Goodbarrel, Halfling lawyer
Wicktrimmer, Imperial Goblin merchant
Lady Alexia, Ruler of Gosterwick
Freydis, Alexia's Steward
King Weskenim of the United Goblin Tribes
Gribble, Weskenim's brother
Helena, Set accountant
Two Knights of the Azure Shield
The Plan:
- Explore more of the Forum of Set
- Kill more Settites
- Take their stuff
- Find someone to run the Forum
What Happened:
After routing most of the Set cultists, the Right for Riches company continued exploring their northwestern territory, looking for stragglers. They found one acolyte and one cultist hiding, and took them prisoner. They also found a library, with an aged librarian named Alexandros, who seemed to have mostly missed the commotion. They decided to take him back to the Forum. They found one door with a note not to open it. A Glass Wall spell revealed a Set deacon inside staring at the wall, which was suspicious enough that they obeyed the note and turned around. On the way, they cut through the kitchen and found Gresta the cook, who they tasked with feeding the former slaves in the Forum. They also explored many rooms, mostly residential, and took some minor treasure.
They returned to the Forum, where the freed former slaves were eating, the goblins and Lella and the Rippers were supervising, and the surviving merchants were standing near their stalls. They explored east through the Gulld of Service rooms. The Guild all appeared to be gone, but there were four pits full of slaves remaining. Two of the pits were full of higher-value slaves, who had blankets and appeared to have been decently fed. One group of slaves was actually in the process of trying to escape using blankets tied together as ropes, but hadn't gotten out yet. One pit was full of low-value slaves, who lacked any equipment and didn't seem to have been fed much. The final pit was full of mostly dead bodies, along with a few sick and dying slaves. That one didn't even have a hoist to lift people back out. The party rescued all the survivors they could find, and directed everyone back to the Forum for food.
They explored a few more rooms south of the Forum and found that two were occupied by ambassadors from the Varumani and the Frost Giants. The Varumani asked some questions about what had happened, then indicated that they would be returning to the Varumani level to confer with their leaders. The Frost Giants asked if anyone had seen a human female wizard with long black hair. They had not.
There were a couple of empty guest rooms nearby, suitable for teleporting in private. Vael and Uvash went through the Teleport Rugs back to the Beacon, where they asked Basil to close doors and hide things in case someone not fully trusted had to be brought in. They then teleported again through the other Rugs to Gosterwick to try to meet with Wicktrimmer and Lady Alexia. Wicktrimmer was not present at the Rarities Factor, and Tresti said he had left for Newmarket a couple of hours earlier, so Vael asked Tresti to send him a Message spell, saying it was urgent.
Vael and Uvash then met with Barnaby Goodbarrel, their lawyer, to ask about the legality of freeing slaves. Barnaby said that Lady Alexia had recently banned slavery in Gosterwick, so anyone brought there was free. Barnaby accompanied Vael and Uvash to the Azure Keep, where they met with Lady Alexia's steward Freydis. After telling her that the Set Cult had been defeated, she went to get Lady Alexia. Alexia agreed that killing the vile Settites was good, and that any former slaves were welcome to come to Gosterwick, and that the Thesmothete would produce Writs of Freedom for anyone who wanted one. She would ask a couple of Knights of the Azure Shield to take a wagon to the bottom of the cliff, under the basket, to help bring the wounded back. She asked about her Regalia, and Vael said that they had a lead on the Iron Circlet of Ghanor but had not gotten it yet.
Returning to the Rarities Factor, Vael and Uvash saw Wicktrimmer coming down the street upon the hovering Palanquin of Thoth, surrounded by several tough goblins with crossbows. After parking the Palanquin in its secure stable, Wicktrimmer met with them inside. Vael proposed that Wicktrimmer take over running the Forum of Set. Wicktrimmer said he'd have to see it first, and that he'd need a safe way to get there and back, such as a pair of Teleport Rugs. Vael and Uvash took Wicktrimmer through a Rug to the Beacon, then immediately through the other Rug to the Forum before he saw too much. Wicktrimmer took a look around, and spoke to some of the goblins and merchants, then repeated his earlier offer: he'd require a pair of Teleport Rugs as his price for taking over the Forum. After some discussion, the Right for Riches Company declined this offer, and took Wicktrimmer back through the Rugs to Gosterwick.
Next they decided to ask King Weskenim. They went up the stairs to the Temple of Set, which was quiet with its doors locked. Using Stephania's keys, they opened it and went through to Upper Goblintown, then down through the Wet Caves to Goblintown. Several goblins had preceded them, so King Weskenim was ready for their arrival. After some negotiation, he agreed to take over the Forum, and said his brother Gribble was the new Lord of the Goblin Forum, and should collect a dozen goblin guards and get to securing the territory.
Returning to the Forum, the group found that the Rippers were gone, and someone had stabbed the Set cultist and acolyte. Vael made a speech about how any former slaves were welcome as free people in Gosterwick, and they would be making a trip there tomorrow, and some wagons should be available to transport the wounded.
Next they decided to try to open the Settites' vault. There were three locks. Vallium went through his large collection of Settite keys and found that he could open two of them. Vael tried a Glass Wall spell to look through the vault door, but something prevented scrying. Vael then tried Lockmaster on the third lock, which failed several times. Horace and Galadnor each approached to say they had stuff in the vault and they'd appreciate it not being taken; Vael made them write a list of exactly what was theirs. Vallium and Ioannes each had a lock-melting Alkahest potion; using both potions succeeded in destroying the lock. Vallium opened the heavy vault door. Inside, a bipedal boar construct charged toward him. He blocked its punch then stabbed it several times. Uvash ran up and missed it with his pick. Lacrymosa put three arrows into its center of mass, and the construct went down.
With the guard out of the way, they started investigating the contents. Lacrymosa was assigned to guard the entry hallway and keep everyone else out. The floor of the vault was full of crates of food and kegs of drink. The north wall was covered with built-in lockboxes. There were three huge stone chests along the east wall. None of Vallium's keys fit the lockboxes, so Vael tediously cast Lockmaster a bunch of times, until he managed a critical success and popped open the last three locks at once. Inside the boxes were many treasures: coins, gems, small magic items, a few magic weapons. The chests were locked and trapped. Vael disarmed the traps. Vallium had keys that fit two chests; Vael used magic on the other one. The chests contained a lot of coins and gems, along with a few odd treasures like a purple bolt of silk with pictures of elephants, and several large cones of sugar. The chests were too big to lift, so Vael went back to the Beacon through a Teleport Rug and got a shovel, for convenient scooping of coins. They then took all the treasure back to the Beacon through the Rug (except for Galadnor's and Horace's stuff, which they left in the vault), and the food out to the Forum.
Next they explored to the southwest. There were several more apartments there. One had a slave chained to the wall; she was freed and sent back to the Forum with the others. Another had Helena, the Set accountant, working behind her desk. After some sword-waving, she gave up her keys and her ledger books and joined the others in the Forum.
Exploring to the north revealed some guard barracks, a room containing some maps (which they took), and a door leading to some rough caverns to the north. They decided not to explore the caverns yet. One of the guard rooms had pictures of Enemies of the Cult of Set on the walls, including all of the Right for Riches company, several of the Grudge Brigade, and their murdered friend Susarra (with an "X" through her).
Returning to the Forum, they found a couple of Azure Knights, talking to Gribble. They said that there was a full conroi of Knights at the base of the cliff, under the basket, and they had a wagon to take anyone who couldn't walk back to Gosterwick.
GM's Comments:
Writing up the loot sheet was exhausting. This is why I'm not an accountant.
Achievements:
- Iconic Location: The Red Bridge of Set (1 XP)
- The Rescuers: Rescued Many Slaves (1 XP)
XP:
- Achievements: 2 XP
- Exploration: 66 new locations (a new record, though it was across 3 sessions): 2 XP
- Loot: lots, 2 XP
- Total: 6 XP
Next Week:
The PCs plan to bring a lot of food from Gosterwick to the Forum, then go to Goblintown and see if Temrin's map to the second Command Bracelet is ready, then buy any of Horace and Galadnor's items for sale that look interesting, then search the Library of Set, then explore more of the area around the Forum.
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