The story so far: Sessions 0-0.1.
Session 0: "It Goes Boom!" (June 10)
A mighty airship leaves the city of Rajgan for a voyage to its longtime rival, the city of Malimpel. The two cities are about to have a peace ceremony after many years of war; many important officials are on this flight. Snadwick the tortle wizard, Dara the eladrin warlock, and Gunnhe the human bard each board the airship separately, for their own reasons. They notice a group of five kobolds eyeing the other passengers suspiciously, as well as a tabaxi in monkish robes standing by herself.
About halfway through the flight, while the airship travels over the vast Simrijj Plateau, the three hear a commotion on the cargo deck below. They find uniformed guards, led by the dwarf Captain Kaldek, attempting to subdue and detain the group of kobolds the party noticed earlier. The kobolds insist that the flight is in danger, that they were only in the hold because they saw "the Snake" heading into the hold. They insist "the Snake" escaped through an unlocked porthole window. The guards ignore the kobolds' protests, but the party intervenes when they discover a pile of shipping crates that have been rigged as a gunpowder bomb. They work together to put out the lit fuse and save the airship. The shipping crates all have the crest of Lady Rothenel, an otherwise unremarkable high elf aristocrat who owns a manor in the country town of Rathádan. The crest is a black bear rampant on a yellow checkered shield.
Captain Kaldek is shaken by the close call, and grateful to the party; he insists that they (and the kobolds) accompany him to investigate Lady Rothenel and see what the truth is. He swears that the party will receive passage to Malimpel once the investigation is concluded, as well as monetary compensation for their time. Essentially, he has deputized the party.
The airship sets down in the town of Rathádan and the guard, the kobolds, and the party disembark. The kobolds are placed in a holding cell, despite their continued insistence that they were innocent bystanders who were trying to save the ship from "the Snake." Captain Kaldek goes off to network with the local constabulary and begin his investigation, while the party are placed in a tavern, The Bear and Bonnet.
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Session 0.1: "Paper Cuts" (June 17)
Snadwick and Dara are awakened early in the morning by a commotion downstairs: breaking bottles, smashing crates, cursing. They go down to the kitchen to find the tavern's proprietor, a halfling named Merric, shaking a poker at a rum gremlin perched on one of his shelves. The rum gremlin has been making a mess of the kitchen, and has friends: a swarm of rats. Merric explains that the wizard who usually keeps his tavern free of vermin hasn't been seen in a week.
Snadwick and Dara take care of the rum gremlin and the rat swarm. Merric reluctantly agrees to give them free room and board for the duration of their stay in Rathádan. He explains that the wizard, an elf named Thiala, used to be in the employ of Lady Rothenel, but she now lives alone in an ancient tower south of town. There are rumors that the two had a falling out many years ago, though in public, the two remain civil. Thiala, however, hasn't shown up to any of her regularly scheduled appointments around the town for a week, including her standing contract to keep the tavern pests at bay.
Dara's patron wordlessly urges her to investigate the missing wizard. No one else in the party knows this.
As dawn breaks, Dara and Snadwick walk the two miles south of town to the wizard's tower. They find the door ajar; it is marked with magical runes to keep enemies, specifically Lady Rothenel, outside, but visitors who mean no harm may enter freely. Inside the entry foyer, they find another shipping crate marked with the Rothenel crest. It is open, but currently contains nothing more than packing straw. There are signs that the foyer room has been rummaged through: scraps of paper and other debris litter the floor.
Going up the stairs, Snadwick and Dara are attacked by a group of origami warriors, enchanted paper constructs armed with paper swords. They knock out Snadwick and carry the two of them into the wizard's chamber, which is empty save for a large tome on a lectern. The book speaks to them, saying it needs a wizard. After Snadwick (revived on the book's orders) gets snappy with it, the book angrily demands a better wizard. Dara feels an impulse (a push from her patron) to slip the book into her bag. (No one else in the party knows this.) After Dara casts a cantrip, the book senses something about her, the presence of her patron within her, and eagerly agrees to go into her bag. The origami warriors unfold into harmless paper, the spell removed from them.
Upstairs, in the attic of the tower, they find the wizard Thiala, unconscious and bound in ropes made of paper. Snadwick is healed by a potion. The two adventurers take Thiala back into town for aid.
A mighty airship leaves the city of Rajgan for a voyage to its longtime rival, the city of Malimpel. The two cities are about to have a peace ceremony after many years of war; many important officials are on this flight. Snadwick the tortle wizard, Dara the eladrin warlock, and Gunnhe the human bard each board the airship separately, for their own reasons. They notice a group of five kobolds eyeing the other passengers suspiciously, as well as a tabaxi in monkish robes standing by herself.
About halfway through the flight, while the airship travels over the vast Simrijj Plateau, the three hear a commotion on the cargo deck below. They find uniformed guards, led by the dwarf Captain Kaldek, attempting to subdue and detain the group of kobolds the party noticed earlier. The kobolds insist that the flight is in danger, that they were only in the hold because they saw "the Snake" heading into the hold. They insist "the Snake" escaped through an unlocked porthole window. The guards ignore the kobolds' protests, but the party intervenes when they discover a pile of shipping crates that have been rigged as a gunpowder bomb. They work together to put out the lit fuse and save the airship. The shipping crates all have the crest of Lady Rothenel, an otherwise unremarkable high elf aristocrat who owns a manor in the country town of Rathádan. The crest is a black bear rampant on a yellow checkered shield.
Captain Kaldek is shaken by the close call, and grateful to the party; he insists that they (and the kobolds) accompany him to investigate Lady Rothenel and see what the truth is. He swears that the party will receive passage to Malimpel once the investigation is concluded, as well as monetary compensation for their time. Essentially, he has deputized the party.
The airship sets down in the town of Rathádan and the guard, the kobolds, and the party disembark. The kobolds are placed in a holding cell, despite their continued insistence that they were innocent bystanders who were trying to save the ship from "the Snake." Captain Kaldek goes off to network with the local constabulary and begin his investigation, while the party are placed in a tavern, The Bear and Bonnet.
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Session 0.1: "Paper Cuts" (June 17)
Snadwick and Dara are awakened early in the morning by a commotion downstairs: breaking bottles, smashing crates, cursing. They go down to the kitchen to find the tavern's proprietor, a halfling named Merric, shaking a poker at a rum gremlin perched on one of his shelves. The rum gremlin has been making a mess of the kitchen, and has friends: a swarm of rats. Merric explains that the wizard who usually keeps his tavern free of vermin hasn't been seen in a week.
Snadwick and Dara take care of the rum gremlin and the rat swarm. Merric reluctantly agrees to give them free room and board for the duration of their stay in Rathádan. He explains that the wizard, an elf named Thiala, used to be in the employ of Lady Rothenel, but she now lives alone in an ancient tower south of town. There are rumors that the two had a falling out many years ago, though in public, the two remain civil. Thiala, however, hasn't shown up to any of her regularly scheduled appointments around the town for a week, including her standing contract to keep the tavern pests at bay.
Dara's patron wordlessly urges her to investigate the missing wizard. No one else in the party knows this.
As dawn breaks, Dara and Snadwick walk the two miles south of town to the wizard's tower. They find the door ajar; it is marked with magical runes to keep enemies, specifically Lady Rothenel, outside, but visitors who mean no harm may enter freely. Inside the entry foyer, they find another shipping crate marked with the Rothenel crest. It is open, but currently contains nothing more than packing straw. There are signs that the foyer room has been rummaged through: scraps of paper and other debris litter the floor.
Going up the stairs, Snadwick and Dara are attacked by a group of origami warriors, enchanted paper constructs armed with paper swords. They knock out Snadwick and carry the two of them into the wizard's chamber, which is empty save for a large tome on a lectern. The book speaks to them, saying it needs a wizard. After Snadwick (revived on the book's orders) gets snappy with it, the book angrily demands a better wizard. Dara feels an impulse (a push from her patron) to slip the book into her bag. (No one else in the party knows this.) After Dara casts a cantrip, the book senses something about her, the presence of her patron within her, and eagerly agrees to go into her bag. The origami warriors unfold into harmless paper, the spell removed from them.
Upstairs, in the attic of the tower, they find the wizard Thiala, unconscious and bound in ropes made of paper. Snadwick is healed by a potion. The two adventurers take Thiala back into town for aid.
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