Interlude

A Date with a Tinkerer

They make a very odd couple, walking hand-in-hand through the night-time streets.  The man is a human dressed in a loose fitting tunic and pants which are tucked into finely made riding boots.  He has dark hair and bronze skin and though not large compared to most of his race, he towers over his gnomish female companion.   Standing only a few inches over three feet, she is lean and muscled, wearing tight-fitting black leather breeches and a matching corset over a burgundy linen shirt with billowing sleeves.  She glances up him often, merriment and affection glittering in her pale blue eyes and in return, he looks down at her fondly.  In those moments when their eyes meet, she seems to get lost in his gaze, the color of storm-darkened skies lit by flashes of lightning.

Their destination doesn’t seem to matter as they wander almost aimlessly.  A mischievous smile plays over her mouth as she guides them toward the door to a shop.  He looks at her in confusion as the windows are dark and tightly shuttered.  She steps up onto a crate next to the closed door and with surprising strength; she grabs his gray tunic and pulls him into a soft playful kiss which quickly escalates into something more passionate as his hands slide around her tiny waist.  They finally part from each other’s lips, panting softly until they share a soft laugh.  Something catches her attention and she turns to look down the street, eyes narrowed.

The city of Stormguard is second in size only to the Rengar, the capital city of Revelous and though it possess one of the largest and most trained guard forces, the streets can still be dangerous.  She reaches down to loosen her sabre in the sheath at her hip and seeing the gesture, he slowly draws a scimitar from the scabbard on his belt.  From an alley only 30 yards away, two men step out of the shadows.  Dressed in black, they stalk toward the couple with naked steel glittering in their hands.

She reaches into a pouch at her waist and pulls out something metallic.  She flashes a wink up at her companion before leaping away from him, swinging the object over her head in a circle and hurling it at one of the men.  A metal bola spins through the air and wraps around the man’s sword arm.  He lets out an alarmed shout and looks down at the weapon.  Strands of copper are woven into the chain and wrapped around the spheres as well.  He flexes his arm before glaring at the woman darkly as if to say, “What was the point of that?”

The gnome looks back at her date and grins as bluish-white sparks are already dancing over his body.  The electricity snakes down his left arm to coalesce around his hand.  With a softly-muttered phrase, he hurls the lightning at the man, the current striking the bola before jolting through his whole body.  The electricity then jumps to the man’s partner and both of them jerk and writhe from the energy coursing through them.

Before they can recover, the gnome rushes forward; clicking and whirring of metal springs and gears accompany each of her steps which are much larger than one would expect from such a small person.  With sabre drawn, she spins past him and delivers a vicious slash to the back of one leg, hamstringing him.  He cries out and drops to one knee before lashing out with his short sword, but the swing is wild and she easily dodges out of the way.

The other dark-clad attacker recovers and moves into a position flank the girl, but another ray of electricity arcs into him and he turns to see the other half of the couple charging at him.  The rogue’s blade flashes out but likewise, hits nothing.  Music fills the air as the lightning wielder begins sing a lively tune.  He and his gnomish friend both seem invigorated by the song and move with quicker, more assured steps.  They almost seem to move in time with the music, dancing around their opponents in fluid motions.

In less than a minute, street is quiet once again as the couple stands over the lifeless bodies of their assailants.  Kneeling, the bard examines their wounds before singing another soft tune.  A soft glow spread over their bodies and some of their wounds heal over but they do not wake up.  The woman pulls a length of wire from her pouch and secures their hands while he pulls out an intricately-decorated scroll tube, a piece of parchment and pen.  He quickly writes on the paper, rolls it up, and places it inside the tube before muttering softly and pressing a button on the cap.

Tal grins up at Jazhir and says playfully, “You certainly know how to show a girl a good time.”

“Just wait my jewel.”  He replies with a wink.  “The night is young.”

Hand in hand, they continue down the street, leaving their assailants to be found by the city guard.

  - JWG

Entry 5/11/13

So I had to edit the ending of last week's journal since we continued with the party.  Presented here are the rest of the events of that crazy night.  I hope I didn't butcher anything too badly.  Even though this entry isn't very long, there was a LOT going on!

Chapter 43: Loose Ends

As we milled around in the aftermath of the party, there were still a number of questions hanging over the air.  Why did Stormguard Intelligence try to abduct Tal?  Why did the Fasa’s brothers attack him?  Who were the samurai who defended the Lord Knight?  Why was that noble dead?   We needed answers and the Lord Knight wasn’t letting anyone go until those answers were discovered.

The dead intelligence officer was first.   Rish checked over the body and then cast a Speak with Dead spell.  He was sent by the King of Revelous because a Diviner in Rengar had delivered a prophecy regarding the Lightning Cannons that Tal and I were working on.  In the next great war, the ultimate victor would be whichever kingdom had the most of those weapons, so the idiots decided the best way to ensure their victory would be to kidnap the creator.  Tal and I have been discussing plans for the device and had planned to make a deal with the Lord Knight for purchasing the weapons and making more, an exclusive contract!   The Lord Knight was almost as furious as we were.

Seeing nothing further to be gained, Rish released the spell and we examined another dead body, that of a Ja’held Allovar, minor baron who sat on the Council of Lords.  She confirmed that the man’s wine had been poisoned and he died of heart failure.  Earlier, he had been seen talking with Count Riely Vorhst and we learned two were arguing over water rights.  The dead lord was trying to repeal a law that made it illegal to catch and use rainwater in the kingdom.  We can’t make any accusations since we have no proof, but Vorhst owns a large area of land near Qualm, including Sky Lake.  (Hmm, he DID look a little pale to me…)   But he also owns the water rights to most of the area along the river north of Stormguard.  This may also be related to what’s going on in Bennic, where the people were building a lot of boats.  That is something that is going to need to be investigated, likely by the Lord Knight, but I will make inquiries as well.

Mak spoke with the samurai and learned that they had nothing to do with any of the attacks and were surprised as everyone when the assassin revealed himself as one of their group.   They gave Mak an enchanted belt pouch as a way of apology.  Seeing nothing else there, we examined the bodies of the Monks that attacked Fasa.  One of the men had been Fasa’s friend.  They had trained together so it made no sense that they would have attacked; especially since they were there as added security for the party.  When I examined them, I found a faint but lingering transmutation spell on the bodies, a berserk spell.

Shocked that a spell like that would work on trained Monks, we did some more investigating.  Their cups showed some strange residue and when we went to the kitchen we found that the water that they were being served to them was laced with the same substance.  The effect of the drug was that the water was highly alcoholic, making the monks highly susceptible to enchantments.    The guards were also drinking the water and many of them were quite drunk which explains their lackluster performance in protecting the party guests.  We found that the drug got into the water through the ice, which was delivered to the party from a business called the “Frost House” located by the docks.  The Lord Knight will be sending investigators there immediately.

During our investigation, Will watched from his post in the rafters and when we finished he called out some of the suspicious things he found.  First was the disappearance of an extremely lovely gnome from the party guests.  At first I looked to Tal and Erra, but the missing woman had been dressed in a lavish gown and her name was Belladonna, like the herb that can be potentially lethal when consumed.  I immediately had a theory that she was the one who either poisoned the baron or cast the Berserk enchantment on the monks, or both.  We will have to watch out for her.

Next, Will called out to two men in the back of the room who were acting suspicious.  Money and a small pouch had stealthily changed hands.  The Lord Knight called them forward and man doing the purchasing was revealed to be a minor noble named Bramsby.  He had purchased an illegal recreational drug known as “sapphire dream”.  The two men were sentenced to 20 lashes and Mak took them to another room to carry out the punishment.

After they had gone, we looked in a young girl who was looking flushed and unsteady on her feet.  Patrice deejay was here for her first party after coming of age.  She had been drinking wine but swore (convincingly) that she hadn’t had very much.  Unfortunately, she had been watering down her drink which only increased the alcohol content.  She was worried about her Aunt Hecuba, who was missing.

A speedy search of the house followed and the woman was found in a closet upstairs, bound and gagged.  She had been looking for her niece when she was attacked by two mystery assailants.  Will checked around the area and in the thick carpets, he found distinct prints of two men in boots similar to what a Ranger would wear.  Heading back down to the party, we found the men.  They immediately addressed Will as an escaped slave, making tensions rise even further.  Fortunately, the whole story came out soon after.

Lord Vincent Garrous had led the young woman upstairs to take advantage her.  He paid the two slave hunters to “occupy” Hecuba so she wouldn’t interfere.  The Lord Knight was very uneasy about confronting Lord Garrous because the man supplied the majority of weapons and armor used by the city guard and militia.   The two families were at odds over iron production in the area and Garrous was trying to disgrace the family to secure his holdings.  Rish examined both the lord and the girl and as we found out later, she slipped him an herb that would make it impossible to “perform” for a couple of weeks at least - serves the piece of dirt right.

The last encounter we dealt with involved another suspicious-looking individual that Will spotted.   He described the man and “too calm” and when we confronted him, I could see what he meant.  Nothing about the events of the evening rattled him in the slightest.   His name was Thomas Gular everything I had heard about the man was unflattering to put it mildly.  Though he was technically a “Sir” by inheritance, most people referred to him as “The Prick”. 

The Lord Knight finally released everyone to go.   Tired and drained from the evening we all left to get some rest.   Tal offered to let me stay at her place.  After the attempted abduction, I decided that would be a good idea, so I escorted Tal back to her workshop while the others headed back to the Midtown apartment.  Clarrens went with them so he could return to the stables.

It’s now the following morning and as I write this, I’m drinking the last of my coffee while Tal is still asleep in bed.  Last night ended in a wonderfully unexpected way.  I won’t go into details but the plans I had for making an item to let me change size won’t be necessary.  My girlfriend is quite adventurous and… athletic.  Calling her that is still a new experience.  I don’t know that the future holds, but I am certain that I want her to be a part of it.

Chapter 45: Party Crashers

The next day, we began to look into Lilly’s newly acquired assets.  The Lord Knight would be dismantling any of her father’s illegal operations, but we decided it would be best to look things over ourselves.  The first thing we examined was her father’s ship.  Her first order of business was to disband the crew and fire the captain.  Our timing couldn’t have been better as a letter arrived for the man, via magical means…  Hmmmm, that gives me an idea.  But never mind that now.

We went through the ship and found a number of things of interest.  We freed his traveling harem and I believe they will find working at the Silver Dragon to be much more … satisfying.  We also found a set of sheets made from the beards of dwarven ladies, truly a revolting concept.  The invoice said it was to be delivered to the “Empress of Lust” via her envoy on the docks.  He shouldn’t be too difficult to track down – the document says that he is a half-ogre and I’ve only ever seen one man that fits that description.  I believe this “Empress” may be the woman behind the enchantment attacks on Lilly and Will at the Feldor heir apartment. 

Lilly went through the rest of the ship and found some records of her father’s dealings with the various pirate organizations, in all parts of the world.  We even found maps of the shipping lanes he uses to avoid the pirates.  If we want to cause further problems for the man, turning those maps over to said pirates could make things very difficult.  Along with the information, we found a few items: a spear, shortsword and couple of potions.  One of the potions and the sword were highly useful to bards, so Lilly gave them to me.  In the hold, we found crate of rare truffles and a live dire lobster, which gave me an idea.

To celebrate surviving the Lord Knight’s party, we went out for a special dinner.  I invited Tal along with Erra and her adventuring group and we met at the Hobbit House for dinner.     The chefs were amazed at the food we brought and they turned it into an amazing meal.  Mak helped out in the kitchen as well. Erra’s group was a fun bunch of little folks.  The tallest of the party was the dwarf fighter.  The rest of the group consisted of two more Gnomes and the three Halflings.  After dinner, we went to their favorite tavern, a place near the docks called the Broken Branch.  Though it was crafted from the remains of a giant tree by druids, the place was roomy and lively.  We were enjoying the atmosphere until a scream pierced the revelry.  One of the waitresses stood at the door to the cellar, blood streaming down her face from wicked claw marks. 

Our party, now double in size, moved down into the dark cellar and encountered another wraith of the same type that we had fought twice before.  This time, however, as we attacked the creature, a dozen more appeared, rising up out of the floor.  A fierce battle took place, but to make matters worse, a shadowy figure dropped down from the ceiling and attacked Rish.  He slashed at her with a wakazashi and I immediately remembered the stories of the set of swords that she carried.  He told her to hand over one of her blades and he would withdraw.

Unfortunately for him, the last of the wraiths were being dispatched and we all attacked the man and cut him to ribbons.  Rish took up the last blade of the prayer-killer set and an odd look flashed in her eyes, similar to the expression when she spoke with her god.  She nodded and assured us she had it under control and with the last of the wraiths taken out, we decided it was best to call it a night.

The presence of the wraiths a third time cannot be a coincidence.  The most likely cause would be a rift in the Negative Energy Plane and the fact that there were so many wraiths this time could mean that the rift is getting larger.  Rish mentioned encountering something “dark” in the city’s immense graveyard known as the Necropolis.  We need to go there to investigate, but we should do research first and enlist the assistance of some clerics, maybe at Rish’s temple.  (Since she seems to be the Hierarch now!?!  When did THAT happen???)

Another terrible thought has occurred to me as well.  We encountered another powerful undead being recently: Lilly’s fiancé, the spell-wrapped mummy.  He could be the one behind the rift and the attacks: even more reason to be careful…  

Entry 5/4/13

Chapter 40: Home Again

Ahhhh Spearrow…  The trek here was fairly uneventful.  We made a brief stop in Benic and found about 50 or so people rebuilding the town and for some strange reason, a large number of boats.  We were ferried across the river and learned that some massive spiders had been hunted and killed in the area.  The carcass of a huge one was stretched out in the town square.  Seeing nothing to be concerned about, we wished them all the best and went on our way.  Though, now that I think about it…  What ARE they building all of the boats for?

Our only other encounter was with another Negative Energy Wraith similar to the one we encountered under Stormguard.  If we see any more of these creatures, I may be concerned.  Maybe the barrier to Negative Energy Plane is weakening?  Or someone or something is sending these creatures against us.  Whatever the cause, we have other things to be concerned with.

Luckily, Spearrow isn’t one of those things.   The town is in good hands.  Grusk is keeping the peace nicely.  Three heads on stakes decorated the front of his office.  They belonged to the group that had tried to kill him so as grisly as the site was, it was definitely justified.  The Runny Eye goblins have settled in well and seem to be accepted by the town.   Everyone seemed happy to see us so that made for a good evening.  There were only a few things that put the reunion into something less than stellar.

First, we were informed that there were two instances of people asking for our whereabouts.  The first was a strange other-planar creature that was described as smelling of “fire and metal”.  Will paid a surprisingly skilled goblin artist for a detailed picture of the individual but none of us recognized it.  I have a suspicion it may have something to do with Arkhazral, the Effreet that was imprisoned on Nicotem’s island.  I only hope that there is not hostile intention involved.  The second individual spoke with the goblin chief but no one seemed to recognize him. 

Second, while visiting and talking with townsfolk in the tavern, I spotted Tom Nice.  The ghost informed me that he was haunting me and had been since the ritual with the Bloodsong guild.  He can’t be more than 150 feet from me.  Though I do enjoy his company and having him around could be helpful, I don’t want us to be stuck with each other forever.  I’m going to do some research and discuss the situation with Alair at the guild.

Lastly, we learned that a prostitute had moved into town and according to the rumors, she was from Rengar.  Initially, I was afraid that she might be part of the Red Fangs, trying to spread their influence throughout the kingdom.  After confirming that she had been seen outdoors with her head uncovered during the day, I ruled out her being a vampire.  The other possibility was the Enchantress who as we learned from the guards in the city, originally came from Rengar.  Rish was extremely worried about this possibility and admitted that she had past experience with people like that.  I didn’t press for details as she was obviously distressed.

So we paid the lady of the night a visit.  Tom followed and went into the house first, indicating that she was alone and had no magical devices present.  (He also informed us that the woman had fake teeth – strange.)  Will and Rish waited outside while I took on the disguise of a young farm boy and went inside.  The woman who greeted me was attractive but looked like she had to work to be so.  She had a soft soothing voice and a pleasant manner.  She sat me down on the couch and I played up the shy virgin act.  I know – really not that much of a stretch for me, but I still had to be convincing and get information from her.

After a few minutes of intentional awkwardness, I had found out that her name was Wendy and that she was definitely not a threat.  I could detect no lingering traces of magic in the room and saw nothing to indicate that she was anything other than what she seemed: a whore looking to make a fresh start in a quiet place.   She seemed to accept my act and when I excused myself she made no move to stop me.  When I stepped back outside, Rish was practically red-faced and after I told her what I learned, she went inside, closing the door behind.  Will and I stared at each other awkwardly until there was a commotion in the trees behind the house.

Fasa had spotted a goblin hiding there and held the squirming little green man by the scruff of the neck.  With some convincing and a surprising amount of coin from Will, the goblin told us that his chief had him spying on the townsfolk, especially those that visited the prostitute.  I asked about the goblin clan and he told me about large spiders in the woods.  Strangely, he also said that if we were going toward the temple, we better bring a pot of honey.  After agreeing to report to Will as well as the chief, the goblin scurried off back into the darkness.  Now we have two reasons to speak with the chief.

Rish exited the house, looking angry, but not murderous.  We decided to call it a night and head back to the hut and we rode in silence.  Now I’ve reclaimed my favorite resting place in the den:  the large over-stuffed chair.   Tomorrow we’ll check in Sheila and the Goblin Chief and likely be back in Stormguard by dinner time.  After more than a week of rations and tavern food, I may have to take Tal and her sister to meet Rawul at the Hobbit House for a meal.

Chapter 41: Preparing for the Party

Though we were beginning to cut it close on time before the Lord Knight’s birthday, we did look in on the others in Spearrow before returning to the big city.  On the way to the temple, we encountered a brownie on the road.  The tiny fairie demanded a toll to continue on the road and though, he couldn’t be less intimidating, we all noted the dozens, if not hundreds, of his fellow fey in the trees to either side of the road.  Though we were willing to pay their price of food for their group, we didn’t think the townsfolk would appreciate the added cost for going to visit their local temple and graveyard.

It seems they had come here from a far off forest known as Blackthorne and Will looked stunned.  It seems that he is originally from that region and it is a long ways away – another continent in fact.  Their forest had burned down, along with the nearby town and by some twist of fate, they ended up here.   Seeing such a large group, I had an idea.  I offered them as much food as they needed if they would move down to the woods around Fennic’s hut.  In return, they would protect the place and chase off any intruders.  To our delight, they agreed - on a trial basis at least.

We moved on to the temple and informed Sheila that the road was clear again.  She thanked us and let us know that things were going well in town.  She had seen Shane, but not recently.  She promised to tell him that we were looking for him if she did see him soon.   We left the temple and headed straight to the goblin caves.  The place looked quite a bit different from the first time I came here when I first arrived in the area.  The busy tribe of humanoids was hard at work expanding the tunnels and creating a home for themselves.

 

We were taken to see the clan chief and found at that he had a very good reason for keeping watch over the activities of the townsfolk: Grusk asked him to!  The goblins were naturally stealthy and able to see in the dark so they made excellent spies and informants.   This allows the sheriff to discover problems early enough to deal with them before they get out of hand.  It’s good to see the goblins not only fitting into the town, but helping out as well. The Chief also informed us that the person looking for us was an infamous bounty hunter known only as the Hellhound.  Specifically, he was asking about Shane, so we've got one more thing to discuss with our former ranger when we finally see him again.

With nothing else to check on, we went back to the hut and made sure the brownies were settling in and had food.  Clarrens was in the stables to take care of the horses so we made sure that he left out food for our new neighbors as well.  Having that settled for now, we took the archway back to Stormguard; bypassing the enormously inflated taxes at the city gates.  I feel a bit guilty about breaking the law like this, but with the amount we move back and forth, the fees would severely deplete our resources.  Also, we've been doing a tremendous amount of good for the region so I feel that we've earned a financial reprieve.

My first order of business was to check in with Tal.  I’d been gone a little longer than planned and I didn't want her to worry.   I shouldn't have been concerned because I received an enthusiastic greeting from the excited tinkerer.  With her sister gone for weeks and even months on end, she was used to prolonged periods of separation.  Also, she had made a breakthrough with the Lightning Generator and had begun talking with potential buyers about useful applications.  She was excited to see the books we had recovered from Feldor’s mansion but that was nothing compared to her meeting Clarrens.  She studied and talked with the golem for over an hour and after that, she continued to pour over the manual for his construction.  I’ll admit, I am little jealous of the time she is spending with the metal construct, but it really is a marvel of arcane engineering.

Next, I met with the Baron to discuss the purchase of my new epic tale, “Curse of the Clockwork Ghost”.  He was very interested in the story and immediately had ideas on how it could be performed.  He made two offers:  a flat fee for the tale or a small percent of the house receipts from the performances.  As I was still fairly wealthy from selling the Wizard King’s Spellbook, I chose the latter.  Being a partner of sorts was much more satisfying and potentially profitable over a smaller amount now.  I look forward to seeing our story up on the stage.

Knowing that the assassin going after the Lord Knight was doppelganger, I decided to do some research on how to deal with shapeshifters.  I figured the best place to get information like that would be the Wizard’s Guild.  Unfortunately, when I arrived and asked for admittance and fees for consulting, the wizard in charge was extremely rude and condescending because of my association with Oslo.  He actually quoted prices that were ten times the normal rate.  Luckily Mak was with me and asserted some of his authority as an Inquisitor in defense of the city’s leaders.  He paid the normal fees and we were led to a consultant.

We learned of three ways to deal with our assassin.  First, we could spread a mixture of salt and iron at the base of any entrance.  Crossing that would cause the shifters disguise to melt away and reveal its true form.  Second, mage knew a spell which could detect any Transformed creatures, but the range was extremely limited and could only target one such individual at a time.  He offered to make us a wand but the cost would have been prohibitive.  The third option was get the creature to imbibe a specially crafted drink known as Wine of Burning Truth and as fate would have it, I knew a talented wine-maker.

Leaving the guild (gladly), I traveled through the arches to the Starfire Winery where I met with Raz.  He did indeed have some of the wine in question but to my dismay, it cost 2000 gold per bottle!  I had enough to buy a single bottle but that was all so I attempted to work out a deal instead.   If the Lord Knight would sign a contract to use Raz as a supplier for his party and other events, Raz would hand over one bottle for free.

We all met with the Lord Knight after that and he immediately agreed to the contract with the winery.  

Though the salt and iron mix wouldn’t work on the main entrance, we planned to place it over the window sills and any entrances into the house that wouldn’t see much traffic.   We decided against using the assistance of the Wizard’s Guild, though in hindsight, the Lord Knight could likely have gotten their assistance at no charge.  For the wine, I came up with a plan.  Each person that approached the Lord who he knew well would be asked a question that only they would know.  If the person could not answer correctly, nearby guards would immediately detain them.  If the person was not well-known, the Lord would offer a toast of the special wine.  

Rish would stay by the Lord Knight’s side with her Sanctuary spell and healing magic ready for use.  Will would be up in the rafters for a bird’s eye view.  Mak planned to be in the kitchens to ensure none of the wait staff was involved while Lilly, Fasa, and I would be mingling among the guests.

There are still two more days to prepare, but none of us had any other ideas for further preparations.  I’ll be eating dinner tomorrow night with Tal and her sister who just arrived in the city today.  According to Tal’s letter, her sibling is very eager to meet me.

Chapter 42: A Night of Chaos

Dinner with Tal and her sister Erra went very nicely, though Rawul had other matters to attend to.  I am amazed at how much those two can eat!  (Something I will never ever say anywhere but here – I may be inexperienced with relationships, but even I know that much!)  Erra is every bit as lovely as her sister, but where Tal is smart and quick, Erra seems languid and wise.  They both have a lively sense of humor and we exchanged stories of childhood and more recent adventures.  Erra is a druid and an adventurer and was very interested to hear the story of our travels to Sky Lake, especially about Shanna’Drina, the druid caretaker of the region.  Tal told me that she had a surprise for me and the sisters shared a sly smile.  I was understandably nervous and after everything that happened last night, I was quite justified in that worry.

We spent the next day getting everything ready for the party: we raided Fennic’s wardrobes to clothe everyone in suitable finery.  Actually, Rish was the only one needing a dress everyone else would either not be dressing up or already had their outfits.   We arrived early to the Lord Knight’s home so that we could get into position and make sure everything was set up.  Looking back, I don’t think any amount of preparation could have made us ready for everything that happened.

As the guests arrived, things seemed to go smoothly until I got my first surprise.  Tal was there doing a floor show using the lightning generator!  She had two assistants as well, her sister and Clarrens!   The show was quite impressive and she looked amazing in an outfit that seemed to be made of nothing but moving clockwork parts.  Unfortunately though I wanted to spend time with her, I had a job to do, but I’ll admit, I was distracted.

Which is probably why I was so surprised when a doppelganger suddenly appeared in front of the Lord Knight.  Rish activated her Sanctuary spell and at the same moment, a trio of monks attacked Fasa.  He smashed one of the attackers brutally but before I could move to his aid, three men in heavy Lunarian armor, similar to Mak’s advanced on the Lord Knight!  Mak charged them while Will rained arrows down on them.  I assumed Lilly was doing what she does best, sneaking into position to attack.  A scream caught my attention and I turned to see two men going after Tal.  One was trying to wrap her in a cloth sack while the other was pulling plates off of the lightning generator.  Erra cast a spell on the man with the sack and he froze in place.

Suddenly the generator let out a pulse of electricity and people screamed as they tried to get away from the malfunctioning device.   I yelled at Clarrens to protect Tal while I charged in.  Knowing that I had to get that generator away from the crowd, I activated my flight ring and rushed in, grabbing the heavy cylinder, and flying up into the rafters.  Current raced through me but I shrugged it off as I secured the device on one of the heavy beams, making sure it was far enough from Will and the crowd below.

The monks and the samurai were dealt with.  Erra and Clarrens had taken care of Tal’s attackers.  The Doppelganger actually looked terrified and bewildered.  Under the effects of the wine, he couldn’t lie and swore that he was only a diplomat.  From behind the knight, one of the guests lunged for the Lord Knight.  Malarkius had made his move!

Unfortunately for him, we were all ready and after a brief but bloody battle, he assassin was lying unconscious on the floor.  I called out to the guards to secure Xristopheles as well, knowing he was somewhere in the crowd.  The Lord Knight also ordered his guards to seal the room so that no one could leave until everything was sorted out.  We all looked around at each other and suddenly realized that someone was missing, Lilly!

We called out for her, searching around but it was obvious that she was gone.  Will spotted an open window but without knowing how long the kidnapper had left or where he could have gone.  I activated my Message ring and told Oslo what had happened.  His response was simply, “teleporting in 30 seconds”.  I was dully aware of hands grabbing onto me, including Tal and Erra.  In a flash of arcance power, we all appeared on a rooftop.  There was a bit of scrambling as few of those transported were left dangling over the edge.  All I could see was the man in black running along the roof, the man who had attacked and taken my closest friend.  The flight spell from my ring was still active and I shot forward until I passed him.  A red haze settled over my eyes as I drew out a wand and fired.  The Doom Gaze spell took the man and he crumpled in a lifeless heap.

Voices, angry and alarmed, came toward me but I grabbed the man’s belt and opened it.  Inside was all of Lilly’s belongings and clothing, shrunk down into miniature.   With a slight bit of relief, I spotted the bracelet, but I was looking for only one thing: a simple ring that held the bone fragments of an elven sage.  Without a pause, I slipped it on, feeling a slight sting of life being drained from me.  The image of Belthazar appeared in my mind and I demanded to know where Lilly was.  He didn’t know but after my five questions and an observation from Tom (that Lilly’s Father was at the party), I realized that she had to still be at the Lord Knight’s manor.

After retrieving Fasa from where he had fallen, we all raced back to the house and as soon as we were back inside, I called for the Halfling business man to be detained.  He was smug, arrogant and thoroughly detestable.  I tried to make him drink the Wine of Burning Truth, but he refused.  However, after I accused him of abducting his daughter, the Lord Knight ordered him to drink it.  When he did, the truth came spilling forth like a flood of corruption.

He had kidnapped Lilly and on demand, he reached into a belt her shrunken unconscious body, still alive but naked.  Rish took her as we began to interrogate her father.  Thanks to the wine we all learned what a terrible piece of filth her father was.  First, he tried to declare that he had the right to take his daughter because he was protecting a minor but then revealed that he only wanted her so he could “sell” her to someone else like her current fiancé.  Next, he confessed to numerous illegal operations:  slave trading and drugs were just the tip of the iceberg. 

After exposing his numerous crimes, he tried to pull a fast one.  He declared all of his assets to be the property of Lilly and that all crimes were her responsibility, by the laws of his country.  Fortunately, the Lord Knight assured him that she would not be prosecuted for said crimes and that the laws of her homeland held no sway here.  Panicking further he declared diplomatic immunity and unfortunately, the laws did dictate that it had to be granted.  He would be forcibly and magically deported without delay.

Lilly was still unconscious so we moved on to interrogate Xristopholes and his hired assassin.  Seeing the methods that Mak was going to employ, I decided to excuse myself so I could check on Tal and Erra.  We checked on the men that attacked her and learned that one of the men escaped and that the other was a member of Stormguard Intelligence.  I recovered the lightning device after making sure it was deactivated and we spent the rest of the evening talking.

I later learned that the attempt on the Lord Knight’s life was punishable by death.  Xris was trying to have the knight killed so that he could expand his holdings into smuggling and other less-than-legal pursuits.  It wouldn’t surprise me to learn of a connection to Lilly’s father, but that won’t be possible for them any longer.

The party wound down and we are all resting back at the Midtown apartment.   Lily woke up briefly as we settled her in bed.   Rish is watching over her.  I believe Mak and Will are checking over the Armory and if Fasa isn’t with them, then I’m sure he’s off meditating somewhere.  I made my farewells to Tal and Erra after promising to meet them at the workshop tomorrow.  I had been afraid that tonight’s craziness would have been too much for them, but after I received a kiss from each of them, (Erra’s on the cheek and Tal’s a long, lingering one on the mouth) I think things will be alright.   - Removed because events occurred in the following week that contradicted these events.  Read on to see what happened!! -

Entry 4/27/13

Chapter 38: Assassins, Vampires, Elves and other Nasty Things

Life in Stormguard has been relatively uneventful for the last week.  One of the first things I did was study the Wizard King’s spellbook.  I learned that it is one of a series of three such texts and it detailed the use of elemental magics in harmony with the body.  Through the correct rituals it could greatly extend the life of a person.  It also allowed me to delve further into my Djinn bloodline.  If I concentrate, I can now see the currents of air, like swirls of white and blue in the air.    Also, I’m fairly certain that the mild weather we’re experiencing is due to me pushing the storm clouds out to sea.

I decided to sell the book and after wrestling internally, I gave Oslo the option first.  One of the first spells in the book was a brutally effective disenchant spell.  We both decided it would be best not to put that knowledge in the hands of a city which rigidly controls the transport of magical goods into their gates.  He gave me a small coffer with the warning to open it someplace with plenty of room.  I chose one of Fennic’s more plain bedrooms and from the small container poured ten thousand platinum coins.  A good portion of my share went to a couple of items from Inrus’ Shoppe: two new wands, an enchanted haversack, and a set of magic spectacles to help me spot things easier.  With the deal that I worked out with her in trade for a map to Thendaris’ manor house, I got everything at a discount.

Most he others have been busy as well.  Rish helped a group from her temple to clean out the vampire nest that we discovered.  One of the paladins who fought at her side was the very famous Dyer Maskil, a half-dwarf.  Someday, I’d really like to know more about his background.  I’m sure it’s a fascinating tale.

Mak has been focused on making some new armor since his was severely damaged in our trek through the catacombs.  I showed him how to use the archways so he could do his work at the temple of Torag in Hammerfell.  While he is working, he asked me to look for some Elf Fabric to make his over-tunic.

The only problem is that Elf Fabric is only made by gray elves and they are extremely rare outside of their own lands.  They are an extremely private people and humans especially are not welcome.  I found that Fennic had an Archway to gray elf lands, but his notes made it clear that if I were to stop in for a visit, it would likely be the death of me.  The fabric they make is said to be enchanted in such a way that it can double as armor, turning as hard as granite when it is struck.  Even monks can wear it but conflicts with a monastic order broke out over use of the armored robes and now elven assassins enforce a ban of monk usage of their cloth.

I found that there are approximately two dozen gray elves spread throughout the city of Stormguard.  Over half of them were nobles serving as ambassadors, but of the remainder, I found one merchant in the noble quarter.  He was a pleasant enough fellow and to my delight, he actually had Elf Fabric for sale: at one gold per square inch!  To make a tabard for a person of Mak’s stature, the cost came to 750 platinum!  Luckily, he will be paying me back because my funds are almost depleted.

The most important thing on our agenda was warning the Lord Knight about the assassination attempt.  Lilly and I tracked down some information on the people named in the letters we found.  “Xris” was the name of a minor noble of Melody Hall.  I’m not clear of his motivations other than being a pompous, over-indulged child, but then, maybe that’s enough.  I've read and recited many tales about conflicts that were started for even less valid reasons.  The corpse we found was Gren, a man-servant of lord Xris.  Information on Malarkius was even more disturbing.  He is an unparalleled assassin and to make matters worse, he’s a doppelganger as well.  I hope that alerting the Lord Knight in advance will ensure his safety.  There are still almost three weeks left to prepare before the celebration.

After warning the Lord Knight, Rish proposed a job that she needed help with.  She had a lunarian blade in her possession and needed more information about it.   Years ago, when she first came into contact with her god, she hid another similar blade inside an abandoned house north of the city.  I took her to the great library to do some research.  (I swear; it was not a date!)  With the help of one of the guides, we found some very detailed information.  The swords were part of the “Prayer-killer” set.   They were forged in Lunasigra during a time when holy wars were ravaging the country.  The emperor commissioned the forging of these weapons and gave them to his champion.  This warrior’s task was to seek out men and women of faith and slay them so that no such wars would plague his lands.  Rish currently held the smallest blade, known as Heretic.  The largest blade, Faith-slayer was the one she hid away.  According to the legends, if anyone held all three blades, they would truly be a force to be reckoned with, especially against anyone who wielded Divine magic.  Someday, I am going to have to hear this woman’s story, maybe over dinner.  I should invite Dyer as well.  Who knows, they could really hit it off!

While we were still at the library, we also researched the history of the Feldor mansion where she hid the blade.  It belonged to an extremely prosperous family of gnomish tinkers.  Their house was the envy of many noble families of Stormguard until tragedy struck the household.  According to the stories, there was a dinner party at the mansion and one of the guests was a witch.  Insults were made and a fight broke out and the witch put a curse on the house.  Some of the clockwork servants went berserk and killed everyone who didn't flee the house in time.  Since then, no one has successfully gone into the house and lived to tell the tale – except for Rish, of course.

In addition to a basic set of floor plans for the house, we found at that the family’s descendants still live in Stormguard, though they have fallen on hard times.  Lilly and Will went to check out the surviving heir’s home to see if there was anything that could help us enter the cursed house.  By some strange coincidence, I was walking Tal home after a very nice dinner when I saw Will struggling on the stairs of the apartment building where the Feldor family lived.  Tal and I rushed to aid him and when we arrived I found that he was in the thrall of a powerful enchantress.  I used my Bardic Countersong and disrupted the magic while Lilly broke free on her own and attacked the male enchanter.  Before we could do anything else, the female of the pair activated a teleport spell stored in her ring and they disappeared.

As we recovered from the encounter, I introduced Tal to my friends, and the four of us went to the guard station to report the incident.  There had been a number of other similar attacks so the guards took our report very seriously.  Afterwards, Lilly and Will rushed off without another word; maybe because they were too shaken up by their encounter.  The magic used on them caused their minds to be overwhelmed by feelings of desire and lust and having recently withstood the effects of Nixie dust, I can understand just how disconcerting that situation can be.  Although, I did notice that they ran off together…  No, I’m sure nothing happened!

I’ve just returned to the Midtown apartment after walking Tal home.  My business and dance partner has come to mean a great deal to me and I wanted to make sure she got home safely.  She was very appreciative and I still feel the warmth of her lips on mine.  I must say, I think I have discovered the best use of the Enlarge Person spell.  Unfortunately, I will have to work on a way to increase the spell’s duration if our kisses are going to last that long.  Her sudden change in height was really hard on my back; though, a little muscle strain is totally worth it.

Chapter 39: The Clockwork Ghost

We’ve left the Feldor mansion and I have decided that I will be writing out this story and selling it to the Baron for his theater – absolutely amazing!

At Rish’s urging, we reached the house an hour or so after sunrise.  It was silent and feeling of foreboding hung over the building like a shroud.  Blackened tendrils of vines snaked up the brick walls, like veins of dark blood.  In the center of the grounds we spotted a reflecting pool surrounding a fountain.  There was no water, but the artwork was amazing.  All around the outside of the place, nothing moved but we could all feel the unmistakable sensation that we were being watched. 

Rish led us around the house to the chapel but stopped in her tracks.  The colorful stained glass windows where she had entered years ago were gone.  There was only smooth stone which as evidenced by the newer brick and mortar and the fragments of glass was a relatively recent change.  Not seeing a way in there, we moved around to the servant’s entrance.

The locks were simple enough for Lilly to bypass and we entered a small kitchen area.  In the center of the floor was a smashed clockwork construct that reminded Rish and I of the butler described in the stories we found.  According to Will, there was also evidence of a murder here, but there was no body left behind.  Feeling uneasy, we headed toward the chapel, but in the hallway, a blast of scalding and rusty water blasted Mak as we passed a crack in the wall.

I used my mending wand to repair the crack so we could all pass it safely.  Further down the hall I got singed by a strangely mobile wall sconce.  It arched down and touched a lit gas lamp to the back of my hair.  After patting out the flames, we rushed down to the chapel doors.  A large barrel of brackish water was next to the door and as Lilly and I examined it, an unseen force scooped out a large amount of the fowl water and splashed us.  Unfortunately, the water also contained a number of hungry leeches.

Lilly and Mak used salt to clear the creatures off of her while I scorched mine with a blast of lightning.  Taking stock of the situation, the more magically inclined half of our group could sense the presence in the house; similar to a ghost, but more mechanical in nature.  Mak could detect evil from whatever the entity was.  We came up with a theory that it might have been the butler, a construct that the house’s owner had invested a tremendous amount of time, money, and energy.  Deciding it would be best to recover the sword quickly, we rushed into the temple.

In a hollow under the altar, Lilly and Rish recovered the long, curved blade marked with the same runes as the dagger Rish already carried.  She got a distant look in her eyes as she held the sword and looked up toward the doors suddenly.  A voice called out suddenly, demanding that “Lillian” come out.  We all looked to Lilly but she was frozen in what I could only interpret as a mix of confusion, horror and anger.  We retrieved another sword from under the altar, a bastard sword that had a holy aura and gave it to Will.

I grabbed Fennic’s hat and put it on Lilly so that she now looked a bearded wizard dressed in arcane robes.  I also cast Enlarge Person to complete the disguise so she now looked human.   Not a moment too soon because there were three people standing in the entrance to the chapel: a Halfling with a handsome, distinguished look and powerful, commanding presence.  He introduced himself as Lilly’s fiancé and demanded to know where she was.  I noticed Rish staring at one of the humans behind the Halfling and saw her hand drifting over the hilt of Faith-Slayer.  A cleric then and judging by the robes worn by the other man, he must have been an arcane caster.  I also noted that they weren’t coming inside the chapel.

We managed to convince the Halfling that Lilly had run off with our valuables and disappeared.  I don’t think he was believing our story, but the house chose that time to interject with crashing sounds  and hisses of steam from somewhere behind the men.  Shouts of alarm rang out and I told them that the place was haunted and we all needed to figure out how to stop whatever was causing this before it killed us all.

The Halfling seemed to believe this and took his men upstairs to the attic to search, leaving us to check the basement.   As soon as they were gone, we compared notes and were all convinced that Lilly’s intended was some form of undead.  We had an idea to reanimate the butler so it could be let loose on the group and started for the kitchen.  A spectral voice stopped us and said, “downstairs”, so in true adventurer fashion, we went to the basement.

There we found a massive construct which was badly damaged to the point of being inert.  Among the pile of metal was a large woodsman’s axe.  Next to the remains was a huge boiler which supplied the hot water throughout the house and after glancing over at Mak’s scalded armor, I had an idea.  I positioned Will, Rish, and Fasa at the valves of the boiler while I readied my Gust of Wind spell.  Singing a song to help with timing and precision, I pushed the magical torrent of air into the metal cylinder. 

A surge of super-heated steam shot up through the house, blasting out of all the pipes throughout the levels above.  Screams erupted from upstairs followed a bellowing voice full of hatred and anger.  It definitely sounded like no ordinary Halfling and it was coming our way.  Without knowing what to expect, we were all justifiably nervous.

Since the disembodied voice directed us here, I asked aloud what happened so many years ago.  Was the house haunted because of the curse?  “No curse” was the answer followed by “Guests attacked my master - was protecting him.”  I asked the clockwork spirit if it would help us versus the evil thing in the house.  It agreed and I used my Mending wand on the pile of metal.   The body reformed but it took a second charge to finish the process.  As it shuddered to life, I asked the construct if it had a name.  Clarrens was the reply and it swore to help and protect us.  Picking up its axe, the clockwork man strode up the stairs.

After a brief discussion, the rest of us went upstairs as well to fight whatever Lilly’s fiancé was.  When we arrived, Clarrens and the Halfling were squaring off, except the Halfling had dropped his guise and appeared as a three foot tall desiccated corpse wrapped in rune-covered cloth.  We recognized him as a
spell-wrapped mummy and from what I could recall, they were extremely powerful.

Unfortunately for him, there were a number of cards stacked against him in addition to the powerful clockwork construct.  Will’s Ranger training was specialized in hunting undead.  Mak and Rish were both divine casters that had attacks affective versus creatures like this.   He also had no immunity to attacks from Lilly’s blade or my lightning.  What proved to be his undoing was Rish consecrating the area where we fought and me using the Rune of Threads to levitate the body over holy ground, preventing his escape.  He screamed and exploded in a flash of light.  (Unfortunately, Rish informed us that if he could reform again if there were another set of wrappings within 100 miles.  I’m sure he will be back.)

With Clarrens restored, the house was quiet.  No ghostly presence lingered in the walls and Mak assured us that the construct itself was no longer evil.  He agreed to serve us and our plan is to have him stay in our stables to protect and care for our mounts.  After that, we spent some time examining the house and I was excited by the large collection of books!  A few prized volumes stood out from the rest.  First was a detailed manual on how Clarrens was created.  Next was a large tome of engineering practices written by the master of the house and last was a detailed account book of the family’s dealings.

I know that Tal is going to love looking at the first two and I suggested that we give the third to the surviving member of the family.  The rest I planned to add to Fennic’s Library and the others agreed.  Lilly eventually found the family’s safe and produced a Master Key from her pocket which I assumed came from the apartment where she and Will ran afoul of the rapist enchanters.  (Do all adventurers have that kind of bad luck?!)  The safe was intricately trapped as only a master engineer to could.  With my musical assistance and the remaining charges in my Knock wand, we got the safe open.  Inside was a single item: an Iron Flask.  I knew of items like this from my homeland as they are used to ensnare outsiders and force them into obedience. 

I can’t help but think that this flask will only cause us trouble, especially if there is something already stored inside.  We loaded up the rest of the library on our horses and set off to the north.  Traveling back through the gates of Stormguard with a magical construct and all of the items we now carried would have incurred a huge price tag.  The only other option was to travel north and west to Spearrow where we could use Fennic’s hut there.  I will have to have a message sent back to Stormguard once we get to Reese.  I only told Tal that I would be gone for a few days and I don’t want her to worry.  She mentioned that her sister was going to be visiting and that she wanted us to meet.  I’m sure that will be fun and I’m looking forward to it.