[Fishing dwarves out of the fish and negotiations with the ratlings.]
[This session took place July 17, 2004. We were playing Champions 5th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]
Player Characters
Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University
Dangar Stonekleaver – male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom
Mord Worldfist – male dwarf bodyguard [and handler] for Dangar
Wendell Dorshield III – male gnome, Captain and Architect of the Yardbird
Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert
Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw
NPCs
Rebecca – female gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell
Herschal “the Hunter” – also known as “Bearkiller”, male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell
Yacov – male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell
Horace the Mad – male human, a fur trapper and mountain man operating in the Southern Reaches
Session Begins
April 12, 20 IC
Mid-day
Malwyn, still isolated from the rest of the Outlanders by the 7-foot tall pile of dead fish, attempted to reconnect with the Outlanders by burning away the fish using the Flame Saber. Unfortunately, there were more fish than flame and all he achieved was adding the smell of burnt rotted fish to the miasma of the dead fish smell. Seeing the futility of trying to burn his way back to the Outlanders, he turned and followed the escaping ratlings, hoping to find another way back to the Outlanders.
In the meantime, Darkfox and the Gnomes discussed the best way to unbury the dwarves from under the fish ("best" being defined as "without touching the fish ourselves"). Darkfox experimented with pushing fish around with her telekinesis spell, prompting Wendell to use his Rod of Excellent Engineering.
After some discussion, Wendell caused a slope to form under the pile of fish and, with some prompting by Darkfox, gravity pulled the fish down the slope into one of the pits flanking the front entrance. Gravity also pulled Dangar, Mord, and one of the dead ratlings down the slope, but a judicious use of unseen servants from the Rod pulled them out of the fish flow.
Once free of the fish and rescued from the fish flow, a rather odoriferous Dangar realized he had dropped his family axe and it was somewhere in the pit with the fish. Impulsively, he jumped into the pit with the fish and started using his shield as a shovel to scoop the fish out. It was only after the first scoop thrown into the air came back down on him that he stopped to ponder the fact that the 20-foot pit was filled halfway with fish. He was eventually pulled out with a rope and poles from the pit concealment were used to poke through the fish, looking for the axe. It was eventually located and Darkfox's telekinesis pulled it free.
At this point, the locked door the ratlings had escaped behind started to be unlocked from the other side. The Outlanders took battle positions, axes and bows at the ready to shoot the first ratling to come through the door. Instead, it was Malwyn, who had found the way around. He reported that the ratlings had retreated up a set of stairs to the next level of the tower.
With Tim and Mord still unconscious and Horace still held inside the Tower, the Outlanders decided to leave the unconscious under the care of the Gnome bodyguards and proceed up the stairs to find Horace. They walked down the rather odorous hallway, into the room beyond the door (where they found a door Malwyn had needed to burn down to get by) and up the stairs.
As they cautiously approached the top of the first flight of stairs, Darkfox and Dangar saw into the room at the top of the stairs. The far walls were lined with a row of crossbowmen flanked by spearmen, all with their weapons at the ready, but not pointing at the stairs. Sitting in an ornate wooden chair was a female ratling in very ornate robes, calmly awaiting the arrival of the Outlanders. From somewhere off to the left could be heard the sound of multiple voices chanting in a low tone.
The Outlanders held a whispered conversation as to how to proceed. Dangar suggested that the odds were even and that they should attack. Darkfox pointed out that there were a lot of ratlings armed with spears and manual repeating crossbows waiting for them. Dangar countered with "Yeah, 20 to 1 odds. It's a fair fight."
The Outlanders' huddle on the stairs was interrupted by the female ratling asking (in broken Common) if one of them would come forward to negotiate. After quick discussion, Wendell finished walking up the steps and entered the room. The entry area was under the effect of a spell and when Wendell entered the room, waves of lassitude enveloped his legs and he found it very difficult to walk, although he could talk and move his arms normally. Wendell introduced himself and negotiations began.
During the negotiations, the Outlanders learned that the ratlings referred to themselves as Nozumi, and they had been driven here sometime in the past by what sounded like ogres and trolls. The Outlanders also learned what other kinds of creatures lived in the mountains (kobolds, gnolls, undead, and landsharks) and that landsharks cannot dig through stone. The Nozumi agreed to return Horace in exchange for a cessation of hostilities. As an additional result of Wendell’s negotiations, the Nozumi also provided access to a beautifully crafted map of the rest of the valley, which Darkfox copied onto the Outlanders' map.
Once negotiations finished and Horace was returned to the Outlanders, the Outlanders exited the Tower and walked over to adjacent the river to try and remove the fish smell from their possessions (and Dangar in general). This took the rest of the afternoon. The Outlanders chose to make camp there, using a stone surface to avoid landshark attacks.
Session Ends.
NPCs Met
Oh-chi'chek – Third Whisker Clan Negotiator. She was charged with getting rid of the invaders with minimal cost in Nozumi life. The Elders consider her negotiations completely successful. They will be watching to see if the Outlanders return from the valley. They are not expecting them to.
Happening Off-Stage
Locally
[The Nozumi start the cleanup of the dead fish and cremation of their dead. They do not want the stench of the fish to attract landsharks and so will be particularly thorough in their work, using a magical enzyme (Essence of Green Slime) to do the work. They will be nonplused by the slope and bunker Wendell created and will need to contemplate what to do with/about them.]
[Biern's Hill, a relatively nearby human village in the mountains, was attacked by a recently awakened vampire, Apostol the Burning Wizard, and his skeleton minions. All the inhabitants were slain, a few turned into servitor vampires. Those not turned were raised as skeletons.]
In Freegate
[The Silverloc Royal Emissary, Yasha of Piriatin, settled into her residence in Freegate. She has started arranging meetings with representatives of the NDK and the Gnome Consortium during the next several days.]
DM Discussion
[This is a time where the D&D spell prestidigitation would have been supremely useful to get the smell off the PCs. The Hero System version would be a specific cosmetic transformation spell to a clean version of the spell's target.]
Cultists, Cultists, Cultists
Previous session: Session 3
Next Session: Session 5 [not edited yet]
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