This blog post serves as a campaign log for my Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition character, Pyria Almareth.
Session #6 – 07/11/2019
Pyria yawned and stretched as she climbed out of bed. Last night was quite the ordeal. It was a bit unnerving to learn that the Guild of Death had infiltrated the ranks of her father’s guards. “Why us,” she pondered.
Pyria made her way to the dining hall. There she found her father and several others engaged in a conversation. The Baron said, “We had another meeting with the Emerald Serpents, and we heard what was going on in the city.” He turned his attention to Jessicat. The Baron wore a stern expression and continued, “I told the Emerald Snakes you are borrowing the spear from Shigga as we try to root out these agents of Orcus.” The Baron looked towards the others in the room and said “Jessicat and I go way back. Oh how I wish I could join you. My hunting and slaying days are over, but it is for the greater good.”
Pyria glanced at Jessicat and frowned. That Tabaxi was a thief! Pyria was a disappointed to learn this. Oh how she admired the Crusaders of Talos and was delighted at the possibility of personally knowing one. Pyria shook her head and thought, “now’s not the time.” Aloud she asked, “so the game plan is infiltrating the temple?”
Discussions began on how to achieve this goal. Sagrath offered to turn one person invisible. Ohana stepped forward and volunteered. Sagrath plucked out an eyebrow and reached into his component pouch. He pulled out a gelatin and began to speak in an arcane tongue. The gelatin turned into a powder. Sagrath blew the powdery substance onto Ohana and once the dust cloud dissipated Ohana was no longer visible.
Amazed, Sehl asked, “Wow, can you teach me that?”
Sagrath replied, “it would take a long time. You don’t strike me as the patient type.” He looked towards the group and said, “if you need anything, let me know.”
The game plan: Disguised, Pyria would make contact with the Guild of Death. Once contact was made, Ohana would follow the Guild of Death agent.
Pyria used a little magic to create a disguise for herself. She now looked like a middle aged human male. “What do you think,” she asked as she did a 360 turn and said, “you can call me, Sir Fredrick Brown III.”
The fake name, however, was quickly scraped. How would the Guild contact a fake person after all. With Amigo’s permission, the party used his name on their letter for the guild: Amigo Ogima.
Pyria disguised herself as Amigo in commoner clothes and headed towards the temple.
Pyria entered the temple and scanned her surroundings. The Temple of Bahamut was constructed of mostly gray stone. The interior walls were made of brick. There was an atrium where the second floor was visible. Wood paneling covered the walls of the upper level. It looked like a service was about to begin. People were setting up an altar and cleaning pews. A huge statue of a platinum dragon stood in the middle of the main room. The statue was dazzling from the ray of sunlight that entered the room from a small hole in the ceiling.
Looking around the room Pyria noticed an altar with gifts of food, coins and jewels. Three priests were also in the room and there were a couple of door guards. The guards paid Pyria no attention. As she approached the altar a priest spoke up and said, “hello sir, I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
Pyria responded, “I’ve come seeking more.”
“Yes,” replied the priest, “what would you like to know?”
“I just need a moment,” Pyria said.
The priest said, “ah yes, take your time.” He stepped aside.
Pyria got closer to the altar and nodded at the priest, “I am leaving an offering for Bahamut,” she said as she placed her envelope into the basket, “perhaps you will see me again.” As Pyria left, she noticed the priest started to collect all the offerings within the basket.
Outside the temple, she linked up with Sehl. They lingered around the temple a little before the pair decided to head back to the castle to avoid blowing Pyria’s cover. “I hope Ohana finds some good information in there,” Pyria said.
Out of nowhere two books and scroll appear. “That must have been Ohana,” Pyria said. She turned waiting for a response from Sehl and noticed he ran off. Pyria examined the books. One was about Kua Toas and the other was titled On the Nature of Morality. Pyria opened the scroll. It was a boring read talking about case studies of people who changed their personality to the worse certain times of the day. One case study covered a person who had two religions: one during the day and another at night. During the day the individual was a strong worshiper of Evandra, at night it was the Raven Queen. “Why would Ohana give me this,” Pyria pondered. She noticed a gold coin sewed into the scroll along with a name: Welten Schmirr.
Some time passed before Pyria felt a tugged on her clothing. It was Ohana. They returned to the castle where Ohana recounted his undercover events from the day. The goblin handed Pyria new book. This notebook contained a list of various gossip with a price such as people entering brothels that should not be, people seen on streets intoxicated. The book also contained a signature sheet.
“Father, come take a look a this,” Pyria said as she held up the signature sheet.
The Baron shook his head and replied, “by Kord’s breath! That looks just like my signature.”
“What does this mean,” Pyria asked as she noticed her signature on the sheet too.
Sehl shared the name Margram the Monger. Ohana had also mentioned the name during his recap of today’s events. “Oh!”, Pyria exclaimed as she also recalled a name. She turned to her father and asked, “Father, do you recognize the name Welten Schmirr?”
The Baron shook his head and replied, “I do not.”
“Sagrath?”, Pyria asked the wizard. Sagrath also shook is head.
The Baron looked towards Jessicat and declared, “Jessicat, I think you should lead the charge. Take your spear and do a full scale assault on the Guild.”
While preparations began to unfold for the attack on the Guild, Sagrath shared some lore on Kua Toas. He said, “did you know Kua Toas are god makers? If you gather enough of them, they could summon a god. They tend to be creatures of the Underdark. Illithids used to enslave them. It’s all ancient history. They have escaped their bondage and have scattered across Icaria. This is something I should research more now that we know Malek is involved.”
“Alright,” the Baron said as he clasped his hands, “what is the plan of attack?”
Sehl spoke up, “I think we should involve the scoffers.”
The Baron asked, “are you just going to meet with them and make a deal?”
“I’ll meet with a friend whom I trust and see how far the Guild of Death has inflitrated them,” replied Sehl.
Ohana jumped in the conversation with a question, “may I suggest some kind of political bargaining piece?”
“Such as,” asked Sehl.
Ohana continued, “you are going to people who may not be on the best terms with the leaders of Carse.”
The Baron chimed in, “what better thing to offer the scoffers than an arrangement of truce?”
Sehl nodded in a agreement and said, “yes, indeed. That would be a dream come true for the scoffers!”
Ohana replied, “we have to move fast. If the wedding is tomorrow, we must end this tonight.”
Locklier stepped up and said, “you’re not going without me, Knifey.” Locklier looked towards Pyria and she responded, “yes, I’ll join you too. These people are trying to kill my family.”
Sehl lead the party to Mothers. He noticed someone he recognized in the alley. The man nodded for them to approach. They followed. The alley was a dead end. Out of nowhere four additional scoffers appear. One man asked, “are you ready to meet the man?” He held a blindfold.
Sehl nervously said, “you know I haven’t betrayed you.”
The man replied, “I know nothing.”
The party allow the men to blindfold them without resistance.
The man warned the group, “remove the blindfolds and you’ll die. You’ll change hands many times in this journey. Be warned, there will not be a second chance if you disobey.”
They traveled through the city and changed hands five times. Once they reached their destination, their blindfolds were removed. A huge bright light and the silhouette of a person was all they could see.
“Speak,” a new, monotone voice called out, “what is it that you wish of the scoffers?”
Sehl replied, “Illusive Man, I have discovered the Guild of Death has infiltrated our ranks! I give you a way to rid them and gain legitimacy from the Baron himself!”
There was an awkward silence. It sounded like someone was relaying what Sehl said. It was amazingly quiet whispers to someone else. After a long pause, the Illusive Man responded, “yes, there are traitors among the scoffers. One of them is here with us. You have broken your oath, Sewer Knife.”
The elf replied, “That was an accident!”
The Illusive Man asked, “What do you offer the scoffers?”
Sehl relayed, Tthe Baron has offered legitimacy for the scoffers if we help remove the Guild of Death.”
The Illusive Man replied, “So if the Guild of Death is removed and the Baron gives us a little more freedom. Is that what I am understanding? We will need a payment of good faith.”
“How much,” asked Locklier.
“5000 gold,” replied the Illusive Man.
Locklier cringed.
The Illusive Man said, “Remove the elf from the room, please.” A pair of scoffers approached Sehl, blindfolded him again, and guided him out of the room.
Pyria watched as Sehl was led out. She asked, “Why are you removing him?”
Silence.
Locklier said, “We’ll agree to the deal, but what is this?”
The Illusive Man said, “You can have that delivered shortly.” He continued, “you four are free to go. Unfortunately, Sehl will not be joining you. He has broken oaths. The punishment, I’m afraid, will be death. He had a choice to make, and he made a choice to inform nobility before informing scoffers.”
Ohana protested, “He informed his friend of an attempt on his life!”
Pyria agreed, “if it weren’t for Sehl, would you know the Guild of Death have infiltrated your ranks as high as Owlie?”
The Illusive Man considered this and responded, “Well, I guess it is not unknown for us to parlay. Five thousand gold for Sehl’s life.”
Locklier groaned. He hated the idea of paying off scoffers.
The Illusive Man revealed that he has a genuine interest in Sehl’s well being, often viewing Sehl as a son he never had.
Negotiations began to spare Sehl’s life: Sehl would join the ranks of nobility as Squire Sehl and Locklier would avoid paying out 10,000 gold to the scoffers.
The Illusive Man said, “tell use what you know and we’ll tell you what we know.” He continued, “you won’t get within 100 feet of the that place with your men without being seen. They will flee and will not return. They’ll set up camp elsewhere.”
Ohana asked, “What if we approach from the sewers?”
The Illusive Man replied, “That will work. The attack must be swift. The sewers are what we call thieves highway. We can help you there.”
Session #7 – 07/18/2019
Sehl was brought back into the room after arrangements were made. Pyria got the impression that the Illusive Man did not want Sehl to know the details, although the man didn’t actually say that. Pyria could sense it from the tone of his voice, however.
The Illusive Man said, “We don’t demand exemption from all crime. That would be unreasonable. Instead, I want a blind eye turned against your officials so that our taxes will be collected properly. I will send a list.”
Locklier frowned, but nodded at the Illusive Man’s request.
Pyria spoke up, “I will need to consult my father. He already frowns upon the scoffers.”
The Illusive Man replied, “You’ll be delivered a list. We will consider Locklier’s arrangement as earnest payment. I will station some of my best men at every exit in the sewers of Carse. Should any of the Guild of Death attempt to escape the grates, we will track them to the best of our ability. I am putting my people in great danger if they do this. How they infiltrated Margala is unknown and very disturbing.”
Sehl asked, “so did you already know about Owlie?”
The Illusive Man answered, “I was unaware of Owlie’s change of heart.”
Sehl continued, “You knew I wasn’t trying to betray the scoffers. I tried to apologize to Owlie, but then he tried to kill me. I hope you know I am still loyal to the scoffers.”
Oddly, the Illusive man allowed Sehl to continue talking without interruption.
The Illusive Man scolded Sehl and said, “Your punishment is severe, Sehl. You are no longer among our ranks. You are still a friend, but you are no longer a scoffer. It could have been much worse if not for your friends.”
Sehl stiffled a cry.
The Illusive Man addressed the party and said, “Plan your attack wisely. I will do what I can. I cannot, depending on your actions, promise 100% that none of the Guild of Death agents can slip out of Carse.”
The party was escorted out the room blindfolded again. Once they were freed, they found themselves in the same dead end from before. Dusk was not far away.
Sehl said, “yeah, we should start now. Keep them off their guard if the wedding is tomorrow.” His eyes were red.
Pyria patted him on the shoulder and said, “don’t worry, we’re your family now.”
Locklier replied, “ah, yes I should you inform you. You are now a squire.”
Confused, Sehl asked, “what is a squire?”
Locklier responded, “you’re like us, nobility of Merkermia.” He then goes on to explain the events that happened while Sehl was outside of the room. Locklier said, “you must rise in the ranks like everyone else. So, Squire Sehl, nice to meet you.”
Sehl asked, “what ser name should I have? Can I have yours?”
Locklier shook his head and said, “that probably won’t make sense. You start a new family now.”
Sehl pondered for a moment before he announced, “My name is Sehlador, Sehlador Nilho.”
Locklier replied, “House Nilho. That has a nice ring to it. It’s settled then. But we have matters at hand that are more important.”
Pyria said, “I guess we rally our troops and ambush the place.”
Ohana asked, “what if we take the sewers?”
Pyria frowned and said, “I don’t really want to go into the sewers.”
“What? We march them down the streets,” asked Locklier.
Pyria responded, “we’ll be in the sewers when the troops storm the brothel.”
Sehl picked up a stick and began to draw a diagram in the mud. He pointed out a few locations and said, “there are only 3 escape routes.” He started to plan out the game plan for the attack.
Locklier said, “the Guild of Death are surely monitoring those sewers and they’ll see use before we get close to the brothel.”
Ohana replied, “from my reading, those fleeing are the most important.”
Locklier nodded and said, “he makes a good point.”
The group eventually agreed the best course of action would be for the party to take a tunnel, the guards another, and the scoffers another.
Pyria suggested, “maybe we can talk to Sagrath. He might know of a spell that we an use so we can be in constant contact with each group.”
Back at the castle, the party summoned Sagrath. The wizard and Sehl discussed spells. The elf tried to convince Sagrath to join the group in the sewers, but the wizard refused. Sagrath said, “I can’t go with you. If things go south, my services will be needed by the Baron.”
The group then paid a visit Stoltis at the Administrator Complex. They updated him on the information they have gathered, and their plan to infiltrate the brothel.
Stotlis said, “there are two taverns near the brothel that I can empty if need be. I can make those arrangements.” He nodded at one of his agents.
“What of your men,” asked Ohana.
“We are not a military force,” replied Stoltis tensely. The man gave off an unfriendly vibe. Stoltis wore a look of disgust on his face. Pyria sensed while he did believe them about the Guild of Death, his hatred for her family also remained in tact.
“Yuck,” Pyria thought as then wadded through the sewers. The first thing they noticed was a missing mesh grate of steel. The little scoffer Pyria saw on the day Owlie died was here. Little Hector was standing next to the mess. He scratched his head, confused.
Sehl approached the boy and asked, “Little Hector, what are you doing? What’s going on?” Ohana slinked into the shadows.
The young boy responded, “this wasn’t like this yesterday.”
“What do you think happened,” asked Sehl.
“I don’t know,” replied Little Hector, “this is really strange.”
Sehl examined the bars. It looked like the bars were intentionally and meticulously cut. “Hmm, that’s odd,” said Sehl.
Pyria stepped forward and asked, “is the metal warm?”
Sehl knelt down and picked up a bar. It was a perfect laser cut. He replied, “no heat.”
Bewildered, Pyria thought aloud, “what can cut metal like this?”
Ohana looked at the boy and said, “he is a child. He needs to leave this place.”
Sehl agreed and said, “yeah, you should get out of here.”
Little Hector took a few steps towards the exit and said, “I’ll go watch the exits.”
Sehl continued to examine the bars. “This looks like magic or something,” he said, “this is weird.”
Ohana approached the broken grate and studied the mess. Something caught his eye. He noticed writing along the wall. It was not in a recognizable language. It was hieroglyphics. The goblin took out his journey and started to recreate the characters by etching the engraving. Pyria noticed what Ohana was doing and took out her own journal to speed up the transfer. They didn’t have long before Sagrath’s telecommunication spell would wear off. She tackled the opposite end. Locklier warned, “our telepathy is only going to last an hour my friends.”
The party got ready to go deeper into the sewers. Ohana led the way on the right, while Locklier took the lead on the left side. Locklier took a few steps past the broken grate before engraved words began to glow and the bars re-mended, impaling Locklier.
Pyria screamed, “LOCKLIER!”
The prince was stuck and could not move. The bars mended within him. It was a gruesome scene. Pyria looked at Locklier in horror. Her betrothal, the man she was starting to fall in love with, was at death’s door. Locklier was gagging on his own blood and struggled to breathe. Ohana started to pray. Pyria tried to break the bar with an Eldtrich Blast. The damage was minimal. Panicked, Pyria contacted Sagrath through the telepathy spell. She quickly updated him on what transpired. The wizard replied, “you don’t sound like you are very far? You better make haste.”
Shocked, Pyria replied, “you want us to leave him?! I will not leave him.”
Locklier uttered out, “…the guild.”
Sehl also protested the suggestion to leave Locklier behind with, “I am not going to leave my buddy.”
Ohana beckoned to Pyria, “I know. We need to move.”
Pyria looked at Locklier, tears in her eyes, and said, “you better not die on me.” She planted a kiss on his forehead before she reluctantly proceeded deeper into the sewers towards the brothel.
As they approached, Sehl spoke up and said, “oh, I forgot to tell you guys something. A creature roams these parts if the shortcut is taken. It often feeds off the wastes of the brothel.” The party had been in the sewers for a half hour. The shortcut was the more dangerous route, but time wasn’t on their side.
Ohana pointed to the shorter path and said, “Sehl, guide us.” Sehl led them down the dangerous path. On the right side of the sewers, Ohana moved a few paces ahead of the group. He noticed something in lurking behind a corner ahead: ragged clothing belonging to someone, their rear side. Were they peaking? Ohana used telepathy to warn Pyria they weren’t alone anymore. She alerted Sehl and whispered, “is he one of yours?” He shooked his head.
Ohana approached steathly. A wade of something splashed in the water. A tentacle reached up and grabbed it. The sound of laughter could be heard from the brothel. Sehl pulled out his longbow, slowly, and knocked an arrow. Another tentacle grabbed a barrel in the water. Meanwhile, once Ohana made it to the corner, he noticed another person. The pair looked like walking fish-head men: Kua Toas, not a normal thing to see in Carse. They were talking softly. One that was peeking hopped out in front of Ohana and chatted in gibberish. The goblin looked at the Kua Toa and puffed out his chest.
No one understood what the Kua Toa was rattling off about, but perhaps Sagrath might. Pyria relayed the message telepathically to Sagrath. The wizard was able to translate what the Kua Toa was saying, “who is the god of death?”
Ohana grabbed the emblem and exclaimed, “no.” He began to pray.
The Kua Toa started to scream and battle ensued. Sehl moved up and fired an arrow striking one of the Kua Toa’s in the chest. Ohana relayed the Kua Toa’s screams to Sagrath. Sagrath said, “it roughly means alarm.” Pyria fired an Eldritch Blast at the Kua Toa Sehl hit. The Kua Toa fell into the water, and his body quickly sank into the water. Jessicat fired an arrow at the other Kua Toa. It missed.
The remaining Kua Toa tried to move away from Ohana, but not before getting wack from Ohana’s quarterstaff. The Kua Toa dove into the water to swim away. Ohana walked to the edge and threw a dart. The Kua Toa’s body went limp, and a tentacle reached up and pulled the body deeper into the water. The Kua Toa was no longer visible.
Moments later, a big gaping maul merged from the water facing Ohana. It just floated there. Ohana nodded as he walked further down the sewer. The creature had a giant tongue and sat there licking its lips. Sehl shot it with an arrow.
Pyria barely had a clear shot of the creature. She shot it with an Eldritch Blast. Its tentacles were more visible now and thrashed in the water. Jessicat fired an arrow at the creature. An arrow went straight through the tentacle.
Sehl heard the words, “bad food” and the creature sank into the water. A tentacle erupted from the water and grabbed Sehl. The tentacle started to lift Sehl off the ground, but the elf was able to resist its pull. Another tentacle reached out and missed Sehl. Sehl was able to bust free of the tentacle that restrained him. He slashed at it with his longsword. Pyria landed a perfect hit with her Eldritch Blast on the tentacle that grabbed Sehl. Jessicat stabbed it with Shigga’s spear. Light erupted from the wound.
Ohana approached one of the tentacles and missed with his quarterstaff. The creature grabbed Jessicat and Sehl with its tentacles. It’s maul snapped out towards the tabaxi, but missed. Sehl was able to break free again. He swung his sword and chopped off the tentacle. Pyria fired another Eldritch Blast, but the attack missed. Jessicat broke free of the creature’s grapple.
Ohana swung his quarterstaff at the creature. He made a roundhouse kick, but missed. The goblin finished his attack with a swift punch that landed. The creature tried to grab Sehl again, but he was able to slip past the tentacles grab. Sehl sliced off another tentacle. The creature lunged with its maul out to bite Jessicat, but Pyria’s Eldritch Blast landed right into its mouth. The creature sunk into the water and the water became still.
