The Sudden Sea –Session 11

[April 30 - May 2 and 3 – Cyclopses and bears and...what is that!?]

[This game uses the Hero System Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) roleplaying game.  Game sessions happen once a week.  This session happened October 30, 2023.]

[This adventure takes place on the continent of Terik, two years after the appearance of the Sudden Sea.  The PCs are refugees seeking a better life through adventuring.]

 

Player Characters

Sorvia of Stavros – female human ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Tharduk Lavabreath – male dwarf glassmaker from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom, had a glass shop in County Modon that is now underwater, literally

Kadruth Worldbender – male dwarf priest, serving He Who Protects, from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Anomin – female human shapeshifter, from lots of places, most recently County Modon

Islo Redgrass – male elf ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Via Roll20

Inserrant – female human musician, player of zills (finger cymbals) and singer

 

Spring

May 2, 56 I.C. (Imperial Calendar)

Just After 3:00

Trying to discuss the cyclops sentry on the other side of a bend in the ravine without being heard, Sorvia and Tharduk were “arguing” in hand signs.  Tharduk had no idea what Sorvia was trying to convey and was miserable at conveying that he did not understand.  

With no resolution in sight, Islo decided the group needed to retreat back to a place they could actually speak.  He quietly walked back around a previous bend in the ravine.  The rest of the adventurers went to follow when the cyclops sentry finally noticed they were there, spotting Anomin (in crow form) and the two dwarves out in the open.  “Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he called out.

Tharduk answered, stating that they were trying to not be threatening, which confused the cyclops.  Then Sorvia spoke up from a concealed position, agreeing with Tharduk.  The cyclops saw her and asked what she was doing hidden down there.  She replied, “Mapping.”  The cyclops stated he did not want to appear on the map.  Kadruth explained that since he is not a natural landmark, he and his sheep would not be drawn into the map.  This satisfied the cyclops.

The cyclops warned the adventurers that there was a big lion in the forest that was responsible for the death of his favorite sheep, Irwin.  Tharduk asked about whether or not the cyclops traded or sold wool.  The cyclops said they did but his brother was better at that stuff.  He also introduced himself as Nunya and said he would be right back with his brother to trade.

While the cyclops was away, Sorvia and Anomin went back to where Islo was to bring him up to date on the conversation.  Kadruth also used his Force Wall spell to create a ramp so he and Tharduk could negotiate with the cyclopses at eye level.  [That was not an intentional pun.]

When the two cyclopses returned, the second one introduced himself as Inna and that their third brother, Auda, was watching their camp.  Inna and Tharduk then start negotiating the price of the wool.  They eventually agreed on a cost of 2 gold coins to purchase 6 cloves (42 pounds) of wool.  [This was a good deal for Tharduk as a clove of wool usually went for half a gold coin each.]

During the negotiations, Kadruth spoke with Nunya about the lion, trying to get the cyclopses to agree to a bounty for killing the lion.  Nunya wasn’t interested as the cyclops just gave it a hit and it left them alone.  Kadruth did learn that cyclopses had been in this area about a year and the lion first showed up during the recent winter.

Once the trade was done, the adventurers backtracked a bit and then worked their way around the cyclops camp.  Islo and Sorvia discussed what kind of lion the cyclopses were reporting but came to no definite conclusions.  [Neither really had an appropriate Knowledge Skill for this.]  They reached the western edge of the hills late in the afternoon and made camp.

Night

The night passed quietly.

May 3, 56 I.C.

Rain clouds moved in from the east and it rained lightly most of the day.  Kadruth used his Force Wall spell to provide protection from the rain for Sorvia so she could continue mapping the forest as the group explored.  Anomin kept a look out specifically for lion tracks but saw none.

During the day, Anomin and Kadruth noticed that the group had passed the same set of trees three times and called out Islo on it.  A quick tree-climb later, they worked out where they actually were, corrected Sorvia’s notes, and resumed exploring, having only lost an hour or two of time.

Mid afternoon the rain started letting up and gradually stopped.  At the end of the day Sorvia found an excellent site for a camp and the adventurers made camp there.

That Night, First Watch

Early in the watch, before it got too dark, Islo heard something moving through the underbrush.  He fired an arrow at it, hoping to scare the creature away.  Instead, the creature bellowed in response, allowing Islo to identify it as a bear!  The bear's bellow awoke Sorvia and Anomin, but barely stirred the dwarves.

Islo waited for the bear to appear.  When the angry, shaggy, brown bear marched into the camp, Islo tripped it with a trick shot.  Sorvia notched an arrow and shot the bear, hitting it with a glancing blow to the head [she very rolled low damage].  Anomin shifted into her cougar form and charged the bear, nastily raking its forelimbs [lot of Body, but light on Stun].  At this point Tharduk woke up, but Kadruth continued sleeping.

Islo shot at the bear, piercing both of its forelimbs [again, lots of Body, little Stun].

Tharduk readied his axe and shield.  The bear got up off the ground and stood on its rear legs and roared [Presence attack], impressing Sorvia.  It then clawed at Anomin, injuring her significantly.  The noise finally woke Kadruth up, but he was still groggy and complained about all the noise Anomin was making.  Sorvia sank an arrow into the bear's torso, killing it.

When Kadruth stumbled out of his tent, he found a very hurt cougar whining at him.  He immediately set to healing her with his magic.  Islo and Sorvia set to skinning and butchering the bear carcass.  Once his watch is done, Islo cooked some bear meat steaks.

That Night, Second Watch

Midway through the watch, Kadruth was at the edge of camp collecting some wood for the fire when he saw two large gleaming golden feline eyes staring right at him from a distance of 10 meters!

End of session

Commentary

[I had not planned on having the lion show up here, but I rolled two random encounters for the night and after Islo cooked bear steaks, it seemed likely the lion might get a whiff of it and come investigate.]

Sudden Sea Adventures

Sudden Sea Landing Page - Links to all the write-ups for this campaign 

Last session: Session 10 

 

Next session: Session 12 [Not yet typed up]

The Sudden Sea –Session 10

[April 30 - May 2 – Start scouting the Mikro Dasos]

[This game uses the Hero System Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) roleplaying game.  Game sessions happen once a week.  This session happened October 23, 2023.]

[This adventure takes place on the continent of Terik, two years after the appearance of the Sudden Sea.  The PCs are refugees seeking a better life through adventuring.]

 

Player Characters

Sorvia of Stavros – female human ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Tharduk Lavabreath – male dwarf glassmaker from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom, had a glass shop in County Modon that is now underwater, literally

Kadruth Worldbender – male dwarf priest, serving He Who Protects, from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Anomin – female human shapeshifter, from lots of places, most recently County Modon

Islo Redgrass – male elf ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Via Roll20

Inserrant – female human musician, player of zills (finger cymbals) and singer

 

Spring

April 30, 56 I.C. (Imperial Calendar)

Day

The adventurers forded the Mesta River after a quick breakfast and then entered into the Mikro Dasos, the small forest along the border between County Modon and The Shires [home of the Tolk].  Once inside the forest they started exploring and mapping it.

While exploring they found several areas of damp soil that held very large footprints.  Islo estimated the beings that made the footprints were 10 to 12 feet tall and walked on two feet.  There was no continuous path and the tracks ranged from days old to weeks old.  This seemed to suggest the rumors of sheep-stealing giants they heard in Nomi might have some truth.  Islo and Sorvia made suggestions what the source might be, thinking very tall ogres or actual giants.

As the trees of the forest were much taller than the footprint makers, Anomin flew up above the trees in her crow form to look around.  The only treetops in motion she saw were likely from the wind.  She flew back down to the ground and reported this.

Night

During the second watch, Kadruth and Tharduk heard the sound of a very large cat making a kill further to the south.  Tharduk checked inside the tent to verify Anomin was there and asleep.  The dwarves decided the forest had at least one big predator and stayed quite alert the rest of their shift.

May 1, 56 I.C.

Day

The group resumed exploring and mapping the forest.  More giant footprints were seen off and on through the day.  Anomin also found a sheep carcass that was several days dead and eaten by animals, leaving bones and some wooly pelt.  No one was certain what had killed and eaten the sheep, which was worrying.

During the afternoon, Tharduk noted that the ground was getting softer and wetter with some of the tallest trees clearly leaning.  This told the adventurers that they were getting near where the forest approached the coast of the Sudden Sea.

Anomin flew up above the trees again to look around.  She could see that the forest thinned out to the east and beyond that was part of the Sudden Sea.  To the southeast she could see the Dowr Gwernan, the river that was the border with The Shires.  What really caught her eye was smoke from a campfire somewhere in the hills to the west.  The forest wrapped around the northern half of the hills and the hills were scheduled to be scouted the next day.  She flew back down to the ground and reported what she saw.

The group shared what they knew about giants.  This came down to “Giants tend to live in mountain or hills, don't like plains, and tend to have cattle or sheep.”  Giants were rare in the plains so none of them knew very much about them.  [None of the group had an appropriate Knowledge Skill.]

Night

During first watch, some raccoons infiltrated the camp and attempted to steal food.  Islo and Inserrant noticed the pilfering.  Islo shot two of the raccoons with his bow and the rest of the raccoons fled.  The remainder of the night was quiet.

May 2, 56 I.C.

Day

The day dawned cool and damp with a lot of fog.  Anomin flew up above the trees again to relocate the smoke in the hills but it was too foggy and she could see nothing.  [Failed her Perception roll.]

The adventurers moved into the hills, exploring and mapping along the way.  Mid-afternoon, while the group was walking through a narrow ravine between some hills, Kadruth quietly told the party to stop.  Up ahead he spotted a very tall sentry with one eye keeping a lazy watch on the ravine the adventurers were moving up - a cyclops!  He quietly pointed out where the cyclops was and the rest of the adventurers located it.  Sorvia stopped her mapping, put away her notebook, and readied her weapons.

The group started sneaking up on the sentry with Islo several paces ahead of the rest.  Once the adventurers were close enough to attack the sentry if they wanted to, Anomin flew ahead to see if there were any more.  She kept low, along the floor of the ravine.  This worked, and she was able to fly around a bend and then past the cyclops.  She noticed he had two extra spears, a large haversack, and a stack of very large throwing rocks.  He also seemed to be very bored.

Further up the ravine, Anomin discovered a side gulley containing two very large tents, a low campfire, and a small herd of large sheep.  Anomin snooped around a bit.  One tent was laid out for sleeping but had no cyclops in it, the other did.  Anomin entered that tent and looked around.  The cyclops feet were the right shape and size for the footprints seen in the forest.  In addition to several spears and a haversack, Anomin saw a large sack full of something.  While investigating that sack, the sleeping cyclops woke slightly, turned over, and then went back to sleep!  [She just made her stealth check.]   

After resuming breathing again, Anomin looked in the bag and found it was full of spun wool.  Under the bag was a spinning wheel.  Anomin snuck back out of the tent and then flew back to the other adventurers.

While Anomin had been away scouting, the rest of the adventurers decided to sneak even closer to the cyclops sentry and conceal themselves as best they could.  This made it slightly more difficult for Anomin to find them once she returned.  Luckily, the dwarves were not very good at concealment and she found them.

Anomin landed near the dwarves but not in the cyclops’ line of sight.  As close as they were to the sentry, Anomin had to use wing gestures to try and inform the dwarves there were two cyclopses.  Kadruth understood her intent and turned to relay the information to Sorvia.  Sorvia understood Kadruth was warning her of a second cyclops, but pantomimed “Where?”  Kadruth pantomimed a bird.  Sorvia understood and quietly crept back to where the dwarves were.

Meanwhile, Islo had observed the hand gestures going back and forth but did not understand any of it.  On his own he decided to sneak back to the dwarves to find out what was going on.  He found Anomin just around a bend, using a twig to draw a map in the dirt.  From the map, Islo and Sorvia understood that the cyclopes had a camp and there was a second cyclops there, but Tharduk completely failed to understand any of it.

End of session

Commentary

[There was a small bit more at the end, but it was me dictating how a PC acted and that was very wrong on my part.  NEVER take away player agency just for a funny bit.  I apologized when the player called me out on it - I was clearly in the wrong.  At the beginning of the next session I retracted the last bit and we resumed from the point above.]

Sudden Sea Adventures

Sudden Sea Landing Page - Links to all the write-ups for this campaign

Last session: Session 9

 

Next session: Session 11

Status Update - Beginning of 2024

December was busier than November at the Day Job (plus the holidays) and I'm just now coming off that busy period in January.

After reviewing the AdSense results I removed the ads from this blog.  I never met the minimum amount for payout, in fact I barely reached 5% of that number in the time I've had the ads running.  No real loss.

The Monday Group (a.k.a., Super Rat) has continued playing and we just did Session 17, so I'm 8 sessions behind.  I will resume writing up the session summaries this month and try to catch up a session every two weeks.

My clone of the OD&D rules is still progressing, although slowly.  I've done what should be the final editorial pass on Books 1 and 2, finishing Book 2 last week.  Next is Book 3, which I want to have done no later than the end of February.  After that I will put the PDFs up on DriveThru RPG for sale and then create a POD version because I want physical copies to show for my effort.

That's it for now.  My next regular post should be early next week.

Busy Thanksgiving

First, "Happy Thanksgiving!" to those in the US.  It is a significant holiday here and one of the major family-gathering holidays.  With our families scattered this year, my wife and I are hosting a get together for friends who cannot be with their families for various reasons.  We should have 16 or so people with a wide range of dietary needs but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.

As a result of that plus other scheduled events and games, time has been short for writing last week and will be short for this week.  Saturday the 25th has been designated by me as a Day of Writing, so I plan to type up the next set of session notes and get them posted then.

That's all I have time for right now.  Later!

The Sudden Sea –Session 9

[April 29 – Repercussions and Confessions]

[This game uses the Hero System Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) roleplaying game.  Game sessions happen once a week.  This session happened October 16, 2023.]

[This adventure takes place on the continent of Terik, two years after the appearance of the Sudden Sea.  The PCs are refugees seeking a better life through adventuring.]

Player Characters

Sorvia of Stavros – female human ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Tharduk Lavabreath – male dwarf glassmaker from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom, had a glass shop in County Modon that is now underwater, literally

Kadruth Worldbender – male dwarf priest, serving He Who Protects, from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Anomin – female human shapeshifter, from lots of places, most recently County Modon

Islo Redgrass – male elf ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Via Roll20

Inserrant – female human musician, player of zills (finger cymbals) and singer

 

Spring

April 29, 56 I.C. (Imperial Calendar)

Pre-Dawn

Holed up in a cluster of trees outside of the town of Nomi, the adventurers had a heart to heart talk about the group’s actions over the previous several hours.  No one was particularly happy that the merchant was shot dead by the two rangers, Islo and Sorvia.  After a while they all come to two conclusions:

1. They all agreed that murder is off the table from here on out.  Self-defense is OK, but murder is right out.
2. They all agree that they want to be able to go back into Nomi and no one wants to go to jail.  They need to pick up the mail back to Mouzaki to complete their job.  Additionally, Nomi is the only town within 20-30 miles and so the only place to buy supplies.

After discussing their options and what those options imply (they realized if they fled they would be wanted by the law).  They decided to write a letter to the Sheriff explaining their side of things and have Anomin deliver it in crow form.  Tharduk wrote the letter as he had the best handwriting.  The letter conveyed the following:  [the players gave me a 3x5” card with the following bullet points.]

• We tracked Kostakis to secret rooms
• Our intent was to capture and question him about the fire
• We healed his wounds after capturing him
• We found evidence incriminating Viktor Nicabar
• A counterfeit form is enclosed with this letter
• We have more evidence if you are willing to meet us
• We overheard Viktor state “the deputies are on to us” in regards to the fire
• Viktor walked into the secret room we were in and was shot twice
• We immediately tried to heal him, but he was dead
• We panicked!

Once the letter was written, the group discussed where they wanted to meet with the Sheriff if he was willing.  They decided the abandoned tannery outside of town on the County Road would be best.  They could see the town gates from there and would have advanced warning if a group rode out to arrest them.  They also worked out a plan in case the Sheriff wasn’t interested in talking - Anomin would fly in circles and then to the east if things go bad.  If the Sheriff insisted on bringing more than two deputies, this would also count as things going bad.  If things went well, she would fly east and then directly to the tannery.

Dawn

The group quietly made their way back to town and hid in the abandoned tannery just as the sun rose. Anomin then took the letter and flew into town.  While the rest waited, Sorvia started copying the map of the logging camp and the hidden mine.

As Anomin flew over the town walls she noticed many more guards on the walls.  She could also see wisps of steam still rising from the burned building.  Anomin also circled over the northern part of town to look at the Nicabar Residence.  She saw many people milling around the front and back of the building, some of whom were deputies.  From all the lighted windows and active chimneys, Anomin suspected the entire house was awake and alert.

Before approaching the Sheriff’s Office, Anomin landed on the roof of the Post Office across the street and observed.  She saw a couple deputies out on the veranda around the front and side of the Sheriff’s Office.  She could also see the Sheriff in his residence on the second floor getting ready for the day.

Anomin glided over to one of the windows of the Sheriff’s residence and landed on the windowsill.  Holding the letter with one claw, she rapped on the window with her beak.  After doing this a couple times, the Sheriff pulled back the curtains and saw a crow wearing a necklace and holding a letter.  He sighed and then opened the window.  Anomin greeted him and asked how he was.  His response was, “I haven't had my morning coffee yet and am talking to a crow.”

Anomin explained to the sheriff that she had a letter for him, explaining their side of the events last night.  The Sheriff took the letter and read it, his eyebrow rising at a few points.  He then looked over the counterfeit official document and eyebrows went up again.  The Sheriff and Anomin then talked.

The Sheriff wanted more details on the secret rooms as Viktor’s body had been presented in the wine cellar, not some hidden room.  Anomin gave the Sheriff an overview, explaining she had not seen everything but knew Viktor had been in the secret rooms when he was shot.  The sheriff was willing to meet with the adventurers and get complete statements, but not alone and not in the town.  He stated that there were now wanted posters up for the adventurers, posted by the town guard, who answered to the Baron, not himself.  Anomin felt he was being earnest and agreed to his request, stating two deputies would be acceptable and the adventurers would be waiting in the old tannery on the edge of town.  Anomin then flew away, hearing the Sheriff say out loud, “I need my coffee.”

Anomin flew back to the tannery without spiraling, signaling to Islo and Kadruth that things went well.  When she arrived she related her conversation with the Sheriff to the other adventurers.  Islo and Kadruth resumed their watching positions to keep an eye on the town gate in case guards marched out or the Sheriff exited with more than two of his deputies.

An Hour Later

Islo spotted the Sheriff and two of his deputies exiting the County Gate.  Instead of walking directly to the abandoned tannery, in full view of the town guards, the sheriff turned left and walked through the buildings outside the town walls and approached the tannery from the backside, out of view of the guards.

The Sheriff and the adventurers talked.  The Sheriff wanted to know about the "more evidence" and the adventurers showed him the map of Viktor’s logging operation in the hills to the west indicating a hidden mine he was working.  Sorvia stated that the symbols near the map indicated the mine held precious metals and was not a simple stone quarry.  The Sheriff stated Viktor ran that logging company, owning 40% of it with Agni Michelakis’ recently deceased grandfather owning the other 60% of the company and all the land.  When the grandfather died, her claim to the land was challenged and now she needs to present the deed to the land in court.  If she can’t, the logging business would be Viktor’s and most of the rest of the land would go to Timo Onassis, who challenged the land ownership.

After that, the Sheriff wanted to know who shot Viktor and where.  He wrote down the adventurer's statements, occasionally asking questions.

With the map as evidence and the letter as their statement, the Sheriff felt he could go to the Baron and get the adventurer’s names cleared, but it would be good if they stayed away for a little while.  Tharduk stated the group had business surveying the forest to the south for monsters and would be gone for two weeks.  The Sheriff said that should be enough time, but to send the crow back in before attempting to enter Nomi when they returned.  Kadruth asked the Sheriff to also tell the Post Office they would return to collect the mail going to Mouzaki in two weeks and the Sheriff agreed to do so.  Inserrant asked for a copy of the wanted poster with her face on it as a souvenir.  The Sheriff then left and walked back into town. The adventurers exited the back and made their way south, towards the Mikro Dasos.

Sunset

After a day of walking south through the plains, the adventurers arrived at the banks of the Mesta River and made camp.

End of session

Commentary

[Much talking and roleplay this session as the players talked their way through the situation.  Depending upon the choices they made, they could have ended up outlaws.  Luckily, they had made a favorable impression on the Sheriff before things went sideways for them.  They still needed to navigate carefully and did so.  There will be some consequences when they return, but I have not decided yet what they will be.]

Sudden Sea Adventures

Sudden Sea Landing Page - Links to all the write-ups for this campaign 

Last session: Session 8

 

Next session: Session 10 [Not yet typed up]

[UPDATE: Corrected date at the beginning of the session notes from April 30 to the 29th.]

The Sudden Sea – Session 8

[April 29 – Secret Rooms and Murder!]

[This game uses the Hero System Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) roleplaying game.  Game sessions happen once a week.  This session happened October 9, 2023.]

[This adventure takes place on the continent of Terik, two years after the appearance of the Sudden Sea.  The PCs are refugees seeking a better life through adventuring.]

 

Player Characters

Sorvia of Stavros – female human ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Tharduk Lavabreath – male dwarf glassmaker from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom, had a glass shop in County Modon that is now underwater, literally

Kadruth Worldbender – male dwarf priest, serving He Who Protects, from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Anomin – female human shapeshifter, from lots of places, most recently County Modon

Islo Redgrass – male elf ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Via Roll20

Inserrant – female human musician, player of zills (finger cymbals) and singer

 

Spring

April 29, 56 I.C. (Imperial Calendar)

Wee Hours of the Morning

Inserrant, Kadruth, and Tharduk followed Anomin from the Crossed Arrows [the inn the adventurers were staying at] across the walled town of Nomi into the North Ward, where Sorvia and Islo were waiting at a secret door at the Nicabar residence.  The secret door was down some steps and below street level, adjacent to a servant’s entrance in the back of the residence.  They could hear in the distance the Sheriff’s deputies at the front door of the residence, arguing for admission to search for Kostakis, a sword for hire in the employ of Viktor Nikabar.

Kadruth investigated the secret door for the opening mechanism, locating it easily, and opened the secret door.  Behind it was a narrow passage that ended in a door.  On the wall just inside the secret door were some empty cloak pegs mounted on the wall.  There was also a mat for wiping one’s feet.

Islo stepped up and scrutinized the entry area for tracks to verify their quarry, Kostakis, had walked through here.  He could tell someone had wiped their feet on the mat relatively recently, but he could not verify that it was Kostaks, just that it was likely.  Islo then stated with confidence that Kostakis had definitely come this way.

Kadruth then used hand signals to indicate to the rest of the party that they were moving in and to be quiet.  The adventures stepped into the narrow hallway at varying levels of stealth.  Once the group was inside, Inserrant [in the rear] looked under the mat and fiddled with the cloak pegs to see if they did anything.  She found nothing doing so, but located a bar for blocking the secret door from the inside.  She whispered her concern that others might show up after the adventurers.  Anomin shifted from her crow form to human and then to cougar while the others agreed that barring the secret door would be the wise course.  Inserrant barred the door.

The adventurers advanced down the narrow passage to the door at the far end.  Islo and Anomin looked for any traps but saw little [Anomin rolled terrible and Islo just made his Perception roll].  At the door, Islo carefully opened it a crack and felt some unexpected resistance.  Peering through, he saw the door was also moving a small wooden lever set across the opening side of the door - either an alarm trigger or a trap!

Islo carefully pulled an arrow from his quiver with one hand while holding the door steady with his other hand.  He slid the arrow through the narrow opening and under the wooden level before lifting up with the arrow [and spending two Hero Points to re-roll one of the dice twice for a better result].  The wooden lever lifted up and went back into a resting position, allowing Islo to open the door safely.  Before doing so, Islo took the time to peer through the cracked door to see what the room on the other side contained.

The room was empty of people as far as Islo could tell.  There was a long table with bench seats in the center of the room, a freestanding cupboard on the far wall and a cabinet on the wall to the left.  There was a door out on the left wall, to the right of the cabinet.  The cupboard had many drawers on its upper half, a shallow counter at waist level, and two sets of cabinets below the counter.  The cabinet on the left wall only had two large doors.  The room was lit by candles.

Opening the door further, Islo stepped into the room.  Once inside he could see a framed map of the town on the same wall as the door he had stepped through.  Beside that door was a clockwork mechanism to which the wooden lever was attached.  The mechanism had a bell, suggesting it had been an alarm.  Islo chose to leave the mechanism alone.  He then waved the rest of the adventurers into the room.

The adventurers quietly moved in and started looking around.  Kadruth examined the alarm mechanism and noted it was of dwarven manufacture.  He quietly shared this information and Tharduk stepped over to examine it as well.  He found the quality was high and the bell likely to be very loud if triggered.  Inserrant took position by the door in, to prevent anyone from sneaking up behind the group.

Anomin and Islo stepped over to the door out of this room and listened at it but heard nothing beyond it.  Kadruth started investigating the cupboard, hoping to locate a stolen deed as incriminating evidence.  What he found instead was a variety of strange and interesting things, but no deed.  These things included tokens of various shapes and sizes, possibly for setting on the map if the map was set on the long table.

Tharduk investigated the cabinet and, after picking the lock, found a variety of maps, all mounted to thin frames like the map of the town hanging on the wall.  One of the maps in the cabinet showed Nicabar Logging and divided the forested area into various logging zones, just like the map he saw back at the Tsepi Forest logging camp.  This map had a section with symbols he did not recognize and he asked Sorvia to take a look at it.  She identified the symbols as the location of a mine of some sort.  [Note: human mapping symbols for mines are very different than dwarven symbols as dwarves don’t normally need to indicate where a mine is on the surface, just which tunnel it is off of.]  Sorvia carefully removed the map from its frame to ease taking it.

Kadruth attempted to open the cabinet doors on the lower half of the cupboard and found they were locked.  He attempted to force the locks open but could not apply the necessary force without making noise.  He waved Tharduk over and asked him to try.  Tharduk was able to pick open the locks and found more drawers inside.  These drawers held high quality paper, inks, and quills.  Some of the papers are blanks identity papers, some blank property ownership papers - these are forgery templates!

As Tharduk and Kadruth started taking some of the blank documents, the other door opened!  Standing in the doorway was Kostakis, who was clearly expecting someone else.  He said, “Oops - wrong party,” and started to close the door.  At the same time Sorvia drew and snapped off a shot at Kostakis and Kadruth cast Wall of Force to block Kostakis in and keep him from closing the door.  Sorvia hit Kostakis in the stomach before he could close the door, heavily wounding him and knocking him unconscious, followed by Kadruth’s Wall of Force appearing.

Anomin moved forward and pulled the unconscious Kostakis into their room.  She gets a brief view of the next room while doing so - it was some kind of sitting room with the back of a secret door leading out on the south wall.

Islo pulled out some cord and started tying up Kostakis, while Inserrant reported no one was approaching from the narrow passage.  Tharduk grabbed some cloth from the cupboard and stuffed it into Kostakis’ mouth as a gag.  Kostakis started moaning and waking up, so Sorvia whacked him over the head with her bow to knock him unconscious again.

Anomin pawed at Kostakis but could not search him with her cougar paws.  Seeing what she was trying to do, Islo then searched Kostakis’ pockets, finding some copper coins and an eating knife.  Islo took those and then finished tying Kostakis up.  Kadruth dropped his Wall of Force spell and then closed the door to the next room.

Once Kostakis was tied up, Sorvia removed her arrow from him and Kadruth healed his wounds.  This took a couple minutes, during which time others entered the next room.  Anomin was listening but missed this, so it was Tharduk who noticed first and warned the group.  Kadruth quietly dragged the unconscious Kostakis to the exit door.  Anomin, in cougar form, took a position by the door to the next room to strike anyone who opened it.  Islo took position behind the table to cover the door with his heavy bow while Sorvia did the same with hers by the map cabinet.

The adventurers could hear a few people on the other side of the door talk and then one voice called out for Kostakis, asking where he was.  Thinking quickly, Anomin dropped her cougar form, switching back to human before shapeshifting into her crow form.  Once in crow form, she used her mimicry to respond with Kostakis’ voice [she heard it enough the previous day when he did all the talking at the ambush], stating that “he” was in this room and needed a minute.  The other voice said, “I don't care we have business to discuss the sheriff is on to us.”  Anomin replied that “he” would be there in a moment.

Sorvia moved to the doorway out to cover the groups retreat while Kadruth started dragging Kostakis down the narrow passage.  Tharduk attempted to quietly grab all the papers in one of the cupboard drawers on his way out but pulled too hard and the drawer slipped out and fell to the floor.  [He rolled an 18 on his Stealth check, indicating complete failure.]  Anomin attempted to cover by stating, “I’m coming, I’m coming,” in Kostakis’ voice, but to no avail.  The door suddenly opened, showing a merchant in expensive clothes.  He quickly asked, “What the hell are you doing?” followed by “Who the hell are you people?”

Islo and Sorvia both immediately released arrows - Islo hit the merchant in the shoulder [7 Body 21 Stun] and Sorvia hit him in the stomach [8 Body 32 Stun].  The merchant dropped to the floor, dead.

Anomin flew into the next room seeing two rough looking men with shocked faces staring at the dead merchant.  Tharduk froze in place while Islo quietly asked, “Who was that?”  “I think that was Viktor,” Tharduk responded, shock in his voice.  Kadruth, hauling Kostakis down the narrow passage did not hear any of this, nor did Inserrant, who was down at the secret door to the outside, unbarring it for a quicker retreat.  Then Sorvia called to Kadruth, stating she just shot the merchant and maybe Kadruth should quickly come and heal him.  Kadruth sighed.

The toughs in the other room, finally regaining their wits, scream “Assassins!” at the top of their voice and scramble from the room through the other exit.  The space beyond that door looked to be a wine cellar to Anomin who was circling in the room the toughs had just fled.  Kadruth told Inserrant to go fetch the deputies before returning to the secret rooms to heal the merchant.  However, once he reached the body he could tell it was too late for healing.  So he started a different ritual, looking for divine aid.  Inserrant went out the secret door, into the town streets, looking for the deputies who might still be in the area.  Islo went down the narrow passage to protect the still unconscious Kostakis.

Tharduk, still standing where he had dropped the drawer, asked Kadruth if he could help Viktor.  Kadruth received a question from He Who Protects in response to his prayer, “Was this murder necessary?”  Kadruth turned to Tharduk and said, “No.”  On the floor above them they can hear the household spreading the alarm and the two dwarves started to leave.  Anomin, in a room full of shiny things, grabbed a rubber stamp with a shiny silver handle before flying out, following the dwarves.  [The crow form has kleptomania.]

On the street behind the house, Inserrant can hear the spread of the alarm in the house and sees lights starting to come on, spurring her to greater speeds.  The other adventurers make their way to the secret door, Sorvia carrying Kostakis.

In the town streets, Inserrant circled the block clockwise, hoping to find the deputies and lead them to the secret rooms.  As she made it around the second corner, to the street in front of the house, she spotted the deputies surrounded by the toughs the deputies had been arguing with for access to the house.  Now, however, the toughs were demanding the deputies enter as assassins were murdering people inside the house.  Inserrant decided her opportunity had passed and reversed course, now looking for the rest of the adventurers.

The entire party met back up at the bridge across the Cephissus River to the main part of town.  While crossing the bridge, several party members looked both ways to where the town walls crossed the river and openly wondered if there was anything blocking those at night [clearly thinking about fleeing town that way].  Anomin remembered the way looking clear during the day, but none of the adventurers could clearly see those portals now.

The adventures kept discussing what to do next.  Realizing that standing on the bridge was a very exposed spot to be, they decided to head towards the Sheriff’s Office.  As they were nearing the Post Office, they could hear a small group of people yelling for the sheriff crossing the bridge behind them.  Suddenly on the spot and with no real plan, the group slightly panicked.  Anomin did her best to be inconspicuous while flying above the area, keeping an eye on how things developed.  Inserrant started quickly walking back to the inn.  The dwarves followed Inserrant while Sorvia deposited the unconscious Kostakis on the porch of the Sheriff’s Office before following.

Not walking as a group, the adventurers arrived at the Crossed Arrows in dribs and drabs.  Inserrant arrived first, heading immediately up to the rented room to start packing.  Islo was slightly behind her and did the same, which drew the attention of the Tolk innkeeper, Hira, who was still awake after the fire alarm.  She was standing at the door to the inn when Kadruth and Tharduk arrived.  Her sharp eyes [and a 3 on her Perception roll] noted that there was blood on one of Kadruth’s shoes.  She asked Kadruth if he was aware he was leaving red footprints.  He looked down at his boots and realized her actual question was: “Are you a murderer seeking to hide in my business and what kind of trouble are you bringing with you?”  Kadruth apologized for “the mess” and took his shoes off.  She recommended that perhaps it would be best if the adventures were quick to pack and leave.  Both dwarves agreed with her.  When Sorvia arrived with Kostakis’ blood smeared across her shoulder [she shot him in the stomach and he bleed a lot before being healed, so there was plenty to transfer to Sorvia’s armor while she was carrying him over her shoulder], Hira gave her a sharp look, to which Sorvia said, “I'm going to pack.”

Back near the Sheriff’s Office, Anomin observed the second group of people arrive at the Sheriff’s Office and bang on the door.  The sheriff came out and all of them noticed Kostakis bound up on the porch.  They untied Kostakis and some talking happened that Anomin was not close enough to hear.  Then the sheriff, Kostakis, and the group of people started back towards the Nicabar house.  Anomin flew to the inn to update the other adventurers.

After packing and slinking out of the inn, the adventurers agreed that leaving the town was likely a good idea.  Kadruth observed the town walls and the sparse guards on it.  He located a good place to cross unobserved and used his Wall of Force spell to create a ramp to help the group hop the wall.

The adventurers moved away from the town until they found a spot they felt they could hide in and talk about what had just happened.

End of session

Commentary

[This was one of the best sessions we have ever had as a group!  The players worked their characters into a moral quandary and have totally bought into the story being played out.  As a GM I am so pleased with the situation and the players.  The players are not as enthused about the situation their characters are in and are agonizing over the situation.  I’ve been all smiles.  😀]

Sudden Sea Adventures

Sudden Sea Landing Page - Links to all the write-ups for this campaign 

Last session: Session 7 

 

Next session: Session 9

The Sudden Sea –Session 7

[April 28 – Shopping and a Midnight Fire]

[This game uses the Hero System Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) roleplaying game.  Game sessions happen once a week.  This session happened October 2, 2023.]

[This adventure takes place on the continent of Terik, two years after the appearance of the Sudden Sea.  The PCs are refugees seeking a better life through adventuring.]

 

Player Characters

Sorvia of Stavros – female human ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Tharduk Lavabreath – male dwarf glassmaker from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom, had a glass shop in County Modon that is now underwater, literally

Kadruth Worldbender – male dwarf priest, serving He Who Protects, from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Anomin – female human shapeshifter, from lots of places, most recently County Modon

Islo Redgrass – male elf ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)

Via Roll20

Inserrant – female human musician, player of zills (finger cymbals) and singer

 

Spring

April 28, 56 I.C. (Imperial Calendar)

Afternoon

After eating a pleasant meal at the Crossed Arrows Inn, where the adventurers had a room, the adventurers decided to take advantage of the town’s Market Day to secure supplies they needed for their next job.  Inserrant felt the small throwing dagger she purchased at the logging camp did not send the right message in combat and she wanted a club so others would take her seriously.  Not knowing much about weapons, she took Sorvia with her for advice.  After some time searching, she found a club that had leather straps wrapped around it as a grip and was polished and aesthetically pleasing.  Afterwards, Inserrant wandered the market and busked in several locations, using her musical powers to encourage people to tip what they could afford.  She eventually collected 10 copper and a single silver.

Tharduk put his trading skills to use and secured two weeks of travel rations for the group, more than enough for the group to travel to the Mikros Dasos, spend a week there scouting and mapping, and then return to Nomi.  This cost 1 silver per person per day, shaving 2 copper per person per day, but still used up most of the group funds.

Kadruth shopped among the armorers for a set of thigh armor.  No one has a set available for purchase but he was able to commission a piece for 368 copper.  This led him to realize that he received a good deal back at the logging camp for his armored sleeves.

Late in the afternoon, just after Inserrant finished busking in front of the Crossed Arrows Inn, an elf approached Inserrant and asked where she had learned the song she had just finished playing.  Inserrant admitted she had no memories prior to fleeing the Sudden Sea.  The elf introduced himself as Agosti of the Evening Eye and stated he had only heard one other sing that song before, a human bard playing for coin at Fort Agnatero on the border with Mercia.  Inserrant asked what the bard’s name was and if he was a good person or not.  Agosti said he called himself Arian Fireson, but believed it was an alias.  Agosti felt that Arian was hiding from someone or something.  Inserrant found this disheartening, not knowing why her father might be using an assumed name to hide, but it was the first clue she had of his current location.

The adventurers were also able to pick up some rumors during the afternoon.  Several heard that the town of Legaries has disappeared.  They were not certain exactly where Legaries was but everyone was certain it was to the south.  Tharduk and the two rangers separately heard that the head of the Land Office had been recently murdered by a red-robed assassin.

After Midnight

An alarm woke up Anomin and Islo.  The alarm was from outside the inn, so they opened the window to find out where.  The window opened onto the courtyard just inside the County Gate but the alarm seems to be coming from a part of town behind the inn.  Anomin turned into a crow and flew out to get more information while Islo woke the rest of the adventurers.

Flying a widening spiral around the inn, Anomin quickly spotted the alarm and the problem - a building the next block over was very much on fire!  Anomin quickly flew back to the adventurer’s room at the inn and informed everyone what was going on.  She then flew back out of the window to observe the fire.  Kadruth immediately bolted out of the room to go help while Islo, Tharduk, and Sorvia took a moment to don their leather armor before heading out.

Back at the burning building, Anomin spotted two figures in dark clothing exiting a third floor window on the backside of the burning building.  They climbed down to the ground and then sprinted across the common courtyard at the center of this block.  At the far side, they used a grappling hook and rope to climb up to the roof of that building.  Anomin chose to follow them from on high as they seemed familiar but she could not see their faces to place them.

Kadruth ran to the burning building.  It was three stories tall and had an ornate façade, the front of which was on fire on the second and third floors.  [NOTE: US notations, so 1st floor is on the ground.]  Once there he found people exiting all the nearby buildings and a bucket brigade reaching back to the well in the center of the market square.  The bucket brigade was not very efficient, so Kadruth started organizing them better and focusing the water on the burning building.  He used his Wall of Force spell to create a platform for him to stand on so he could be seen and heard better.  Then he cast it again to create a ramp up to the second floor of the burning building so the bucket brigade could throw the water directly on the burning second floor.

By this time the rest of the adventurers arrived.  Inserrant gathered up any kids standing around and took them over to the well, organizing them to assist in the return and filling with water the buckets.  Tharduk started gathering information about the house and witness statements, which he wrote down.

Sorvia and Islo ran into the burning building to rescue anyone trapped inside.  In the back of the house they found the house staff organized to rescue the house’s art and valuables.  The butler stated he did not know where five members of the staff were.  Sorvia and Islo went up the servant’s stairs to the second floor.  The front of the second floor was on fire but it was creeping towards the back.  They went up another set of stairs to the top floor and found the fire raging through the front and center of the building.  They called out names of the missing servants and heard a reply near the flames.  They checked a door close to the flames before opening it.  There they found a young servant huddled in a corner.  They hauled the servant out and retreated to the back of the building where Islo heard a cat in a closet.  After grabbing the cat, the rangers and their two rescuees made their way back down to the ground floor, the third floor completely ablaze behind them.

Elsewhere, Anomin tailed the two people in dark clothes as they made their way across the roof tops, heading north.  At the edge of the block they two figures paused and peeked down into a street they needed to cross.  Satisfied no one on the ground was watching, they prepared to jump the narrowest part of the gap.

Anomin stealthily landed onto their target roof, her black feathers obscuring her from their sight in the darkness.  One landed, she reverted to her human form and recast her transformation spell, shifting back into her cougar form.  The smaller of the two people she was following made the leap across the street first, landing in front of Anomin and exclaiming at the very unexpected cougar, “Holy shit! How did you get here?”  The man on the previous roof called out quietly, “What do you mean?  Who’s there?”

Anomin recognized both voices as the two people the adventurers had let go after the ambush at the edge of the forest!

Anomin immediately attacked the woman.  The woman attempted to dodge the attack but Anomin was better and clawed her across the shoulder.  Anomin then released a shrill screeching noise to cow the two thieves [made a Presence attack].  She was very impressive.  The man said, “It’s that fucking elf’s familiar. Sorry Seraphim you're on your own.”  He then attached a grappling hook and line to the roof and slid down the line to the street.  The woman Anomin had clawed raised her hands and said, “Don’t eat me.”  Anomin made no promises.

Tharduk’s investigations identified the burning building as owned by Agni Michelakis. Amongst the witnesses he questioned, he hound an urchin who saw something but needed a little something to refresh his memory.  Tharduk gave him a few copper. The kid reported he saw someone pouring something on the front of the building from the roof.  The kid was of the opinion Timo Onosus, the person disputing the land boundaries in the forest, was behind the fire.  The kid had a candelabra tucked under the back of his jacket that Tharduk suspected was stolen.  Then the Sheriff arrived and Tharduk let the urchin slink away.

The Sheriff noted that Tharduk was talking to people and making notes.  He greeted Tharduk with, “I'm the one with the badge but you seem to have all the witness statements.  Mind if I read them over?"  Tharduk handed over his notes to the Sheriff while warning the sheriff they are in Dentugog [the dwarven language].  Realizing he needed more light to read the notes, the Sheriff had his deputies clear a local bakery that was open to sell to the crowds watching the fire being fought.  He then ordered some food and drink from the baker and sat and read the reports while his deputies kept an eye on the crowds of people so the bucket brigade could continue to work.  After reading the notes, occasionally asking Tharduk to translate a word or two, he agreed the fire looked like arson.

Back on the rooftops, Anomin struck the other woman twice, once to knock her out and once to keep her unconscious.  This also bloodied the woman considerably.  Anomin turned back into a human and lowered the woman to the ground using a rope.  She flew down to the ground as a crow before returning to human form to carry the woman back to the rest of the adventuring group.  She ran across Inserrant at the well, who commented, “You carry someone who is almost a corpse.”  "I'm helping,” Anomin replied brightly.

Inserrant told the oldest kid with her that they were now in charge and to keep everything going.  Then the two women carried the captive, looking for the Sheriff.  Along the way they ran into a very smoky Sorvia and Islo.  Anomin asked Sorvia to go find Kadruth so he could heal their captive.  While Sorvia did this, Inserrant and Anomin found the sheriff’s temporary outpost in the bakery.  Anomin took the captive in while Inserrant waited outside.

Inside, Anomin reported she had captured one of the two people responsible for the fire.  The Sheriff asked Tharduk to take notes in Koine [the local common tongue] while Anomin related everything she had seen and done.  The Sheriff looked dubious when Anomin talked about turning into a crow and a cougar, glancing over to Tharduk, who confirmed with a nod both times.

The Sheriff recognized the woman as Seraphim the Hare and the description of the man sounded like Kostakis, both swords for hire and known to be currently employed by Viktor Nicabar.  The sheriff carefully searched Seraphim’s body, finding weapons and several empty vials of oil with fresh residue in them.

At this point Kadruth, Islo, and Sorvia arrived and Inserrant entered the shop with them.  At Kadruth’s request, Seraphim was untied but shackles were put on instead.  Kadruth started his healing.  While that was happening, Anomin turned back into a crow.  After a couple minutes, Seraphim woke up and looked around, fully healed but shackled and surrounded.  The Sheriff asked Seraphim if she had anything she wanted to tell him. She said no and glared at Anomin and Islo.  She remained silent when asked where Kostakis was, so the Sheriff instructed some deputies to go over to the Nicabar house and ask Mister Nicabar where Kostakis was.

The Sheriff turned to Anomin and asked if she could understand him.  She answered in Koine, "Yes.”  This surprised him, but he thanked her for bring in the suspect.  He also thanked Kadruth for leading the bucket brigade.  Inserrant asked if there was a bounty.  The Sheriff said, “Not yet, but I’ll mention to Agni Michalakis that you helped.”  At which point the sheriff and the remaining deputies left with their prisoner.

Anomin led Sorvia and Islo to where Kostakis dropped to the ground on the rope, which was still there.  Sorvia and Islo started following Kostakis’ tracks down the street to the market square.  Anomin took a moment to fly up and retrieve the grappling hook and rope and then followed the two rangers.

The rangers were just able to track Kostakis through the market square, mostly as his were the only tracks moving away from the fire.  They lost his tracks on the bridge to North Ward.  They crossed the bridge and looked around, hoping to reacquire his tracks on the other side.  They could just hear a large argument with multiple people on the other side of the buildings.  Sorvia, having reacquired Kostakis’ tracks, followed them eastward along the river side of the block.  Islo walked towards the Bee Gate, intending to turn right and follow the buildings to the other side, where the argument was.  Anomin instead flew over the buildings and was the first to see the three deputies attempting to enter the main house on the block.  They are arguing with some toughs and a man in quality clothes on the building’s front stairs.  Anomin can see additional burly men watching the argument through the windows of the house.

Anomin flew to the backside of the house, where Sorvia was following the tracks to stairs down to a servant’s entrance.  Anomin observed that all the windows on the back side were shuttered or had closed curtains.  Landing near Sorvia, Anomin spotted a secret door to the right of the servant’s entrance to the building.

By this point, Islo had laid eyes on the argument on the front steps and backtracked to Sorvia and Anomin.  Anomin pointed out the secret door to the other two.  The lower landing had been recently swept, so there were no tracks to determine which door Kostakis had entered.

The trio quietly talked over the situation and decided they should report what they had to the deputies.  Islo jogged back around to the front of the building to speak with one of the deputies.  While the other two deputies continued to argue to be allowed in, Islo quietly explained to the third deputy what he and his companions had located.  The deputy explained that the Sheriff knew of the secret door but did not currently have the authority to force the issue.

Islo jogged back around to Sorvia and Anomin and explained that the three of them were on their own here.  Anomin told them to wait and she would go fetch the rest of the adventuring party.

End of session

Commentary

[This one took a while to write up, partially due to the Day Job being busy, partly the delay in getting player write-ups, but mostly due to me slacking a bit (and by a bit I mean a lot).]

[The next session is the amazing one where The Accident happens and the PCs have to...well, just come back and read the blog entry for Session 8 when I post it.]

Sudden Sea Adventures

Sudden Sea Landing Page - Links to all the write-ups for this campaign 

Last session: Session 6

 

Next session: Session 8