Dramatis Personae
Beltin (Aasimar Dirge Bard/Cleric 10).
Bradley Weatherby (Human Dervish Dancer 10/Knife Master Rogue 7/Duelist 3).
"Jake" aka Alex, the actual character name but I refuse to go back and edit the old entries (Human Wizard/Rogue 10).
The Smith (LN Half-Giant Aegis/Psychic Warrior 11). BW's replacement character. The Smith is all he goes by as his name is lost to the past. As his name implies, he is a smith of unrivaled skill and he has left his clan in the mountains in the west to come to the Desolation for one reason: Just as how the steel is forged in fire, the soul is forged in the flames of conflict. Yeah, that's almost exclusively how he talks.
The consequences of poor life decisions, Session 14.4 - 9/19/14
Day 21, night
Bradley Weatherby
BW and Georgia approach the former Bender Brothers Inn, now known as "The Moaning Whale, a Hospitality Guild pleasure establishment." The building has over gone some hasty renovations in the last few days including some expansions, but is now open for business. BW is recognized as he walks in; the people running the place know who he is and don't stop him as he walks past the various sections (The Mermaid section for the high rollers, The Manatee section for the common folk, and the Manta Ray section for the deviants, both wealthy and less so) and into the back office, his office, with Georgia following behind.
They walk down into the cellar where BW has his fancy new bedroom setup and alchemy lab and once down there they have a drink and BW tells her the real, unembellished story of the undead army fight. She is impressed and they move toward the bed. At this point they hear noises both from the cellar door above and the dead end hallway at one end of the cellar that led to the secret entrances to the guest rooms.
From the hallway they hear the sound of metal being dragged against stone, coming near them, and then the curtain blocking the hallway is thrown open and one of Clantock's assassins enters, dragging a huge highly polished axe on the floor, seemingly just for dramatic effect. The noise from the cellar trapdoor was the sound of a lock clicking into place, and on the bottom of the stairs stands another of the assassins, this one stowing a wand of Arcane Lock.
The two assassins just stare at BW and he stares back, but as he does so he sleight of hands a vial of poison into one hand, concealed but ready to throw. He tells them that their business is with him and to let Georgia go. Plus the assassins surely don't want trouble with the rangers. Secretly he hopes they let her go so she can get help.
The assassins are not stupid. They say she will not be harmed, but no one leaves til this is finished. She is welcome to sit down in the corner quietly and wait. Georgia stands her ground, clearly not going to let BW stand alone. Suddenly BW throws the vial of poison at the assassin near the stairs! Death Blade! Fort save failed! Unfortunately the poison has a one minute onset period or else things may have worked out much better for him.
As soon as he does this the third assassin appears from invisibility bearing a garrote and tries to do what comes naturally with such a weapon, but he fails. Initiative is rolled!
The grappler does his thing again, fails, and then again turns invisible. The doorman approaches BW and lazily knocks his kukri out of his hand. The axeman looks ready to come forward when Georgia casts Wall of Light, completely cutting off his side of the room from the fight! 2v2 now instead of the planned 3v1; perhaps BW can pull this out after all.
BW Glitterdusts to find the invisible grappler who unfortunately isn't blinded, but there goes the surprise element. Unfortunately for BW the grappler doesn't need it and finally garrotes him. As he is being strangled, BW feels the barbs on the garrote as well as the poison coating them, but makes his save. Georgia temporarily forgets she has Liberating Command as a known spell, so BW gets to stay grappled, and stay grappled he does. And then things get even worse for him as the doorman steps up and reveals himself to be a Maneuver Master Monk/Fighter gestalt. BW is tripped, has his dresser emptied on top of him, entangling and blinding him with his own expensive clothes, and then gets kicked in the stomach, hard, for sickened. Yay, Dirty Tricks!
Knowing things aren't going well at the moment as he is now tripped, grappled, strangled, blinded, sickened, and entangled, he goes for a drastic measure. He pulls out a vial of Nightmare Vapor, an air based poison that does both wisdom damage and confuses the victim. He throws it around him and the two assassins, himself, and Georgia each get to make a save. And this is where BW screwed himself.
He and both assassins make it. Georgia, the level 10 Ranger/Sorcerer, the full caster capable of turning this impossible ambush into a legendary victory for BW? Oh no, she fails it. Horribly. And continues to do so for the remainder of the fight. As BW is held down and beaten and eventually gets his jaw broken and then most of the fingers on his left hand cut off, Georgia spends her time freaking the hell out. She finds herself unable to roll above a 5 on her save and equally unable to get a roll on the confusion table that isn't horrible for BW.
She starts out by lashing out at her nearest ally, BW, seeing him as some nightmarish figure emerging from the earth. And then she realizes she has bugs all other her, eating her alive, and she viciously scratches herself to get them off. Then they are gone, but where? She ponders this, wide eyed, and does nothing. Finally she realizes they are in her skin now, and frantically she resumes scratching her skin off. By this time BW loses consciousness, but before he does he tries praying to Thyr, to say he is sorry and seeking forgiveness. Thyr remains silent and BW passes out.
From there the assassins restrain Georgia, which isn't hard in her condition, and she gets to spend the next few hours tied up and unconscious, but otherwise left alone, on BW's new bed spread. The poisoned doorman falls into paralysis and starts to hemorrhage constitution soon after from BW's initial surprise attack, enough to kill him which was what the DM originally ruled. Unfortunately in retrospect, the assassin lives as the axeman was part Inquisitor and had Lesser Restoration on his pre-made spells known list; he knows his abilities even if the DM doesn't. Sorry BW, you didn't even get one.
From there BW is hung upside in the cellar and the few times he regains consciousness, he wishes he hadn't. Again he tries to make his peace with Thyr, and again, Thyr doesn't seem to be listening. The assassins take their brutal, slow, and painful revenge and leave BW's mutilated corpse hanging in the cellar.
The assassins untie the still unconscious Georgia and leave a note for her explaining the situation. They and BW had business and she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. She has no lasting injuries and was in fact treated while unconscious to ensure her good health. This business had nothing to do with her and the rangers. The letter suggests that it would be advisable for both Georgia and the rangers to leave emotion out of any considered response to this incident and realize it would benefit all parties to just let it go.
Skeriber will almost certainly see the reason in this, but will Georgia? Perhaps time and plot twists will make that question relevant.
Beltin
Late that night Beltin gets a knock on his door. Outside is one of the assassins and Beltin invites him in.
The assassin informs him that their vengeance is complete and BW is no more; he pulls out a bloody handkerchief embossed with the initials BW and shakes it. Several bloody fingers land on the floor, two still bearing rings.
Perhaps someday the sheriff, Tarl, will know their displeasure, says the assassin, but for now the blood debt is paid. Beltin is no longer in their debt. The assassin reaches into a pouch and pulls out a black stone, a soul, the soul of BW to be precise. He sets it on Beltin's bed and says that as a sign of good faith they did not destroy BW's soul, but instead decided to leave it to his discretion. What happens to it now is no longer their concern.
Beltin thanks the assassin and the assassin tells him that with their vendetta completed they will resume their normal business, though less openly perhaps due to now being actively wanted by Bard's Gate for that whole margoyle business. They will be around. If Beltin requires them for their services, ask Father Death; he will know how to find them. And then he leaves.
Beltin removes the rings from the fingers and pockets them before destroying the bloody physical evidence of BW's murder left on his floor. He ponders what to do with the soul and decides to hold onto it, for now at least.
Day 22
Beltin, Jake, and Augustine finish prep work for the summoning ritual and plan to teleport to the Cross Roads later in the day to create the seal. None of them are too upset by BW's death as business is business. There are some rumors about a body being found mutilated in the Moaning Whale, but the Hospitality Guild is able to hush it up mostly.
Beltin and Jake receive a letter from the Usurer that afternoon saying that he heard of their defeat for a particular lich, one that he happened to have an old open bounty on. Beltin and Jake each have 20,000 bits worth of credit added on to their credit line with the Usurer. In the note he says that as their dear friend BW no longer requires a share, his part will be credited to Yohann Kreshman for use for outfitting Jake's growing guild. Awesome.
When the time is right Beltin, Augustine, Roringard, three decently magic capable recruits, and the fuck-up recruit Carl are teleported to the Cross Roads by Jake. They meet minimal resistance from the dangerous creatures in the Desolation, mainly some mindless undead that go down quickly in fights that aren't even rolled.
Augustine painstakingly creates the seal for the summoning and the materials are prepared in the center. Beltin makes a check and realizes that this seal is strictly for summoning, not containing, and prepares Magic Circle; mistaking the summoning circle for a containment circle is a noobie mistake for the would-be conjurer, like the one who summoned "Bol" originally and got eaten for it... foreshadowing. The party is too good for that.
That night the incense are lit and the components ready, but no one knows how to proceed. Augustine suggests ominous chanting calling involving the name they have: Vol. They do that and the candle flames within the circle seem to respond, rushing upward slightly with each use of the name. They continue for who knows how long and the darkness deepens, but the fire within the circle remains. The incense rises. And then the smoke appears to take shape.
The chanting continues and the form becomes clearer, a small form that appears to have four arms. It is almost solid, but ghostly in appearance when a harsh voice from inside the circle demands blood be paid. Blood must be paid for the doorway to open, it says. Jake gestures to Carl and Carl looks back with a rather dubious expression. Beltin says they only need a few drops, it's not like they are going to sacrifice him. In reality he has no idea how much blood is needed. Bluff check succeeds though.
Carl pulls out a knife and cuts his hand and holds it toward the circle. Suddenly the blood ripped from hid hand and from his veins, pulling him as well. He is pulled inside the circle. His blood hits the smoky form which then becomes solid, some sort of unspeakable horror from the abyss! It's, it's... a quasit? No, a four-armed quasit. And it rips Carl apart and begins to eat him.
The others just watch, some stunned, some not really surprised, and one, namely Augustine, super excited by this turn of events. The creature, Vol, the former party member Bol, finishes the meal and sees Beltin. He asks if they brought BW with them, licking his lips. Beltin informs him that he is dead, and Vol says that is a shame; he has been demoted to this form by his lord due to BW's treachery.
He then turns to Jake, obviously the ritual leader and the one who bound him by his true name. He doesn't ask how he knows it and doesn't seem particularly surprised. He speaks with him and Jake asserts dominance. Vol says he will kill for him and says to seal the pact they must make a blood oath. He cuts one of his four hands so it bleeds freely and looks to Jake to do the same. Vol also has no bluff. It is obvious he is trying to trick Jake into the circle; he still hungers.
Jake doesn't go for it and Vol accepts this. Jake tells him that he will call him when he is needed, but for now, be gone. Vol vanishes and the candles in the summoning circle go out with his departure, leaving the group in darkness.
Jake's power grows; the creature Vol will be a powerful weapon, but also one that must be handled with great care.
Everyone, barring Carl who is dumped unceremoniously onto the side of the road, is teleported back to the Camp and they sleep.
Day 23
The Smith arrives in the Camp and is given a wide berth by most but he doesn't notice or care. He listens for the sound of a hammer striking anvil, of a smith at work. He hears the sound and is led to the Usurer.
He walks into the forge and watches the Usurer work and then once the Usurer acknowledges him, the Smith the tells him to do what he just did slightly differently and it will yield better results. His way of doing so is not judging or arrogant; as far as he is concerned it is a simple statement, a self-evident fundamental truth.
The Usurer ponders his advice for a few seconds and then says that yes, that would make the bond hold better. He is intrigued by this newcomer and his manner. He asks his name and is told that he is simply known as the Smith. He asks permission to work the Usurer's forge and asks him what to create. The Usurer steps back and allows him access. He pulls out a list and tells him to make several daggers.
The Smith does in record time and the results are of unparalleled quality. The Usurer keeps a poker face, but he is supremely impressed. He asks why the Smith is here and the Smith explains he is here to temper his soul with conflict, to gain strength through battle. The Usurer tells him he is in the right place; only the strong survive in the Desolation.
Then, says the Smith, I will survive. He asks the Usurer of those who brave the wastes and is told of the crusaders, who go in and tend to meet bad ends but whose numbers are large. Of the rangers who walk the wastes but observe, not conquer. Of the adventurers who come to seek glory and wealth but mostly find death. But not all adventurers are weak, and the Smith is told of the party and its exploits.
The Smith asks where to find the party and the Usurer explains. Before he leaves he asks the Usurer if he may sleep in his forge and create within it, though what shall be created is the Usurer's decision as is the right of the forge master. The Usurer, seeing a man of great skill and a certain naivety that may be ripe for manipulation, accepts and points to a corner; he may sleep there and work the forge when he wishes.
Nodding, the Smith pulls out one of his weapons, a large axe; he points out certain spots on it and explains the techniques used to make it. The weapon is an unrivaled masterpiece beyond anything the Usurer has ever created. He listens to explanation with rapt attention and when the Smith leaves he studies it closely and contemplates the riddles of the steel.
Walking again. The Smith finds Jake's guild and approaches Yohann. He say he heard they are strong and he too is strong. He will join them. Yohann challenges him to test his strength. While this is happening Jake and Beltin who happened to be there watch on. The Smith is dressed in the simple garb of a blacksmith, but as the battle commences armor appears from nothingness around him and his simple blacksmith hammer grows into massive weapon that seems capable of breaking down city gates.
He wins initiative and Yohann falls easily and would have died if not for Jake's magical intervention with a Force Sphere. With his last blow reflected by the sphere and the occupant inside on one knee barely conscious, it is clear the battle is over. The spell is ended and Yohann heals himself and tells the Smith he is powerful indeed and that he is in. But the Smith is not done yet. He tells Yohann to strike him back.
Yohann looks the man in the eye and realizes that his honor will not be satisfied unless Yohann indulges him. He swings and his blade is deflected by the Smith's armor and now the battle is truly over. The Smith, now content, asks when they will go into the Desolation.
Beltin approaches the Smith and says that before he may join them he must answer a simple question: How does he feel about undead? The Smith considers this and says he doesn't know but he will contemplate it and return tomorrow with an answer. And he departs, intent on returning to the forge, leaving the party both slightly amused and bemused.
End of session. Ding, level 11! 1 causality. All his accumulated bad karma finally caught up with BW, leaving him to face Clantock's three assassins alone, forsaken by Beltin. By using his metagame knowledge of his upcoming ambush but in a credible in-game way, he managed to bring Georgia, the level 10 full caster, with him to the fight, not only evening the odds but perhaps pushing them in his favor. Unfortunately he managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by knocking Georgia out of the fight with an ill advised use of poison, ensuring his slow, torturous death.
Notes: Vol (Bol's true name) functions as the Wizard discovery True Name except Vol scales with level. The old PC Bol is leveled to party level and all his stats and abilities are given to a Quasit in place of its base stats. No size adjustments are made for stats, but damage dice is affected. Vol also has all the Quasit abilities besides at will invisibility, which is now 3/day.
