Interview With A Hag - 02/02/2022 - A Kavel Perspective

Kantas’ Newest Wood Carver - Kavel ‘Smashy Hands’ Castiron

Morgana was pleased with my wood carving progress, and felt I had reached a level of competency where I could take up the trade professionally. This was great. She also said she was looking forward to seeing the heavy clubs I am so eager to carve. I was glad to hear this, because I decided that I would make her a set. I would in fact be making many sets. I wanted to make a bunch for Kavel’s Corner, a set for Sorrel, and of course my own goliath sized’ sets.


Bumping Into Comrade Silvia

I was making my way to the City Watch from The Three-Headed Dragon, when at Portal Plaza I caught eyes with comrade Silvia. I walked up to my human friend to greet her. She looked about the same. Tall-ish human woman with red, long and bit frizzy hair. Eyes constantly sunken. I put one hand on her shoulder, and smiled, “Hello comrade Silvia. Haven’t seen you since Sorrel’s initiation ceremony at the Temple of Selune. How are you?”

Silvia said she was actually looking for our mutual friend Sorrel. I told her I saw Sorrel last week, when we were helping our friend, Celina. I told her about how clever Sorrel was. I smashed in a very large safe door to ensure our safety, but Sorrel was indispensable as she solved numerous riddles that unlocked our entry further into a giant, basement safe. I think Silvia was pleased to hear all this. Unfortunately I couldn’t help Sivia find Sorrel now. Plus, I reasoned with Silvia that if Sorrel doesn’t want to be found, it’s unlikely we’ll find her - she’s so elusive.

Since Silvia had no other purpose in Daring Heights, I insisted she come with me to help Comrade Derthaad with something at the Watch. Silvia would be a great help.

Silvia agreed to join me, and on the way to the City Watch I carried on explaining to her all the impressive things Sorrel did last week, and why she is so great.


Daring Heights: City Watch HeadQuarters

Comrade Derthaad was in the lobby to greet me and Silvia, along with a superior officer, Lieutenant Melissa Buttons. Comrade Anwyn was there too! They are dragonborn like Derthaad, but with white-scales and blue hair. They are a strong warrior like me. It’s cool to see her slash the enemy with her great axe, streaks of lightning come off the blade. They said they needed more hobbies, so that’s why she was here.

A filthy, sobering halfling with orange hair, and blue ink tribal tattoos was being released from overnight captivity. This was Haimish. I think I heard about him. He owns a gallery in Port Ffirst. Haimish seemed to be quite the regular here. Derthaad was familiar with him. They were chatting and Derthaad mentioned he would be interviewing a hell hag today. Haimish mentioned his second wife was one of them, and so Haimish joined us as part of Derthaad’s squad. I would say the method of recruiting here was a bit unconventional, but I did just drag Silvia off the street, too.


Mission Brief at City Watch HQ

Lieutenant Buttons sat us in a room and presented the brief to us. Some of this I already knew since I was with Derthaad when we captured Hecate, the hell hag, and killed her two sisters. I was also present when her cultists were stealing spoons and performing some horrible magic that demanded dead people.

The lieutenant mentioned that they now had a witness - Stan who was one of the spoon thieves for the cultist from the spoon affair. He was willing to testify. I guess he was scared to come forward earlier, he did not know why him and his friend ( or brother, I can’t remember) were stealing spoons, he was just getting paid. But, when he delivered the spoons to his employers, the cultists, that’s when things took a turn for the worse for him, but mainly his partner. On the more recent encounter with him, he was teamed with a firbolg named Tiny Tim and his road bandits who turned out to be good guys trying to take down the cultists and the hell hags.

The lieutenant also said that if Stan testified about what Hecate was up to, then Hecate would be executed, and consequently sent back down to the Nine Hells, because like that sexy demon Adeyal whose head I smashed off his neck; you can’t kill these demons or witches on our plane - only on their plane. Annoying. The cultists were aware that the Watch had a witness, Stan, so we were told to expect a break in to break Hecate out. The Watch was under-resourced, which is why the lieutenant had called Derthaad to gather some adventurers.

The lieutenant wanted to know if we would either help interrogate the hell hag, Hecate, or get Stan’s witness statement at the scene of the crime? The Watch would take care of the other. We agreed to do both things.

Derthaad wanted to get the witness statement, I decided to join him and be his muscle, since we couldn’t afford to have Stan murdered by any remaining cultists. Haimish wanted to tag along too. Silvia and Anwyn were happy with being ‘good cop bad cop’, and interrogating Hecate. A barbarian-like warrior on both teams - good. Very sensible, I felt. It’s a shame though that comrade Glint wasn’t here. It would have evened up the two teams, and I’m sure he would have an academic interest in the Nine Hells. But, no luck, Glint wasn’t around.


Split Party! Team Witness Statement

Anwyn and Silvia went down to the basement where the holding cells were, while Haimish, Private Derthaad and I went across town to Honour Lane, where the other basement was, where we saved Stan from being sacrificed in a ritual.

We got to the warehouse in Honour Lane, and I saw the door that led down to the basement had been reasonably repaired from where I smashed it in to gain entrance. Derthaad put his cube generated owl familiar by the entrance to act as our eyes up here, while we went down to the basement.

In the basement we were met by a Watch member who was accompanying Stan and also Tiny Tim. It was good to see them both. Tiny Tim taught me and Dwirhian some wood carving techniques - he’s a great guy.

Derthaad was getting a good look at the basement, with it’s altar in the middle, pile of books by the stairs, red symbol marked out on the floor and other stuff. I felt inclined to tell Derthaad about how I smashed the door upstairs to pieces, when I was last here.

“Are you talking about the door where you got insurance scammed? The one with the love potions and faceless person?” Derthaad said, whilst paying attention to the symbols on the floor

What was my friend talking about? I wasn’t scammed, but I did break down the door he mentioned too - it flew off of it’s hinges when I ran my shoulder and body into it. I am an excellent locksmith. No need for me to train in lockpicking.

I told Haimish what happened here while Derthaad was figuring out, with the help of Tiny Tim, that the hags and cultists were interested in Stoneleaf for the sunset stone. The red stone in powdered form was what the floor symbols were drawn in. The material seemed to have an amplifying effect.

Stan had finished giving his statement while I was wandering around. Derthaad felt he had discovered some answers, and he was hoping team interrogators would be able to support his findings.

Haimish, who seemed to be proficient in many domains of magic, turned into a direwolf and began sniffing around, while Derthaad flicked through the pile of books. I was bored looking at the statue where the head cultist at the time killed himself before me and Dwirhian got a chance to kill him ourselves.

About this time, Derthaad looked up from the books, got our attention and said, “my owl’s just informed me something huge and blubber-like with chains is coming our way from up top.”


Rumble in the Basement 2 - Blubber Foe Bigger And Blubbier

“Ah shit! Not one of these blubber beasts again,” I thought to myself. Unfortunately, as it appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Worse still - this one was bigger than the other ones I fought. At Least there was only one this time.

Haimish polymorphed into a warhorse, rode up to Stan, bent down and offered a seat to Stan.

“Get the witness out!” Derthaad shouted before pointing at the blubber foe and directing one of his powerful Lightning Bolts at it, scorching the blubber’s belly. The mass of blubber screamed.

Tiny Tim positioned himself in front of the blob as cover for Haimish and Stan, and additionally the other Watch member. The Blob’s bulbous face, which was located where a regular person’s abdomen would be, smirked as I saw the beginning of a Fireball spell being cast. This would be a tiny burn for me to absorb, but the others? Could very well be fatal! But, Derthaad reacted as fast as his lightning and did one of his anti-magic spells that dispelled the magical preparation of the blob’s Fireball. The blob was enraged and moved as fast as it could towards comrade Derthaad, which fortunately was quite slow, and put him near Tiny Tim.

I quickened my breathing and entered a controlled rage, and ran towards the blob. Smashing time! All of a sudden, my head hurt, and I lost a sense of who I should be fighting. At that moment, I remembered that Tiny Tim was the bad guy. Yes, he was a bandit on the road to Stoneleaf Quarry. Remembering who I should be fighting, I swung my poleaxe at Tiny Tim and smashed him in the shoulder.

“What the fuck!” The firbolg said, as he winced from my attack..

Stan mounted Haimish in his polymorphed warhorse form, and Haimish rode them to the base of the stairs, which the blob had moved away from to try and reach Derthaad.

Next thing I knew, Derthaad’s owl was trying to peck at my neck. A mere pin prick to me, but fortunately for my mind, this shook the confusion out of me. “Sorry Tim! Mind Control!” I stumbled out of my mouth towards Tim. Derthaad landed another strong Lightning Bolt on the Blob. It wobbled at the impact and growled in pain.

Tiny Tim tried to slice the Blob with his glaive but missed… was that my fault my hitting his shoulder earlier?

The blob turned from facing Tiny Tim to face me. Disappointed that I was no longer confused, he did one of my least favourite blob-like attacks. He projectile vomited acid out towards me. I got out of the way. No damage. The blob tried another Fireball, but Derthaad was quick to react again and dispelled the magical energy from building up. The blob was enraged again, and was looking at Derthaad when I swung my chakan poleaxe around my head and brought it down into the centre of the blob. No bones, it seems, but the blob groaned in pain. It started to shake like blubber and it upset my next two swings; I missed. Strangely the blob creature shimmered. Was that magic?

Derthaad once again insisted, “let’s get out!” But even though he cast the Darkness spell over the Blob who was in front of me and Tiny Tim - we just couldn’t resist a hit, even if the blob in front of us was covered in darkness. The Blob moved out of the darkness though, towards Derthaad. Frustratingly both me and Tiny Tim missed, and now that the Blob could see, it launched a Fireball spell at me and Tiny Tim, and Derthaad could not counterspell in time. Both me and Tiny Tim took quite a hit, even though we managed to hit the ground pretty quickly to avoid most of the explosion of flame. As I got back up, a little singed, I swung the poleaxe at the blob twice, both hits successful. As the second swing crashed into the blob I heard a sound as if my poleaxe had hit metal instead of blubber, and then where the blob once was, two idiots in heavy armour fell to the ground. The one in front took the brunt of the last swing. “Please don’t kill us!” The one behind said, “we needed the witness!”

Derthaad arrested them both.


Back At The Precinct

We went downstairs to the holding cells to check in with Anwyn and Silvia. It turns out they made a deal with Hecate to release her for information. They discovered the cultists were being used by Hecate, because she felt like a second class citizen in the Nine Hells ever since a rule came in rendering her a lower status being for having no wings. Many people like her wanted to escape to our plane, but it’s proving difficult to acquire the resources to help her two hundred plus friends that also want to escape here.

In addition, Anwyn and Silvia had their own fight against the cultists. This time accompanied by Hell Hounds. Anwyn recounted what happened. I already knew how good Anwyn was with her greataxe, but I was interested to hear that Silvia was pretty handy with a magical blade. It was unfortunate to hear Silvia almost died though. There was also the guilty thought that she was only here because of me. She was sat down, nurturing her wounds. I gave her my Tankard O’ Plenty Confusion. Told her she had a one in six chance it would be a healing potion and I had a healing potion for her if the tankard didn’t work - it was coffee this time. Silvia drank the whole thing anyway, and Haimish used his healing magic to patch her up a bit.

All in all, we did accomplish what was asked of us. We found out what Hecate was up to, and got the witness statement safely. Furthermore, Private Derthaad told me later that he was promoted to Sergeant Derthaad of the City Watch. This was great news! I was pleased for my most frequent adventuring comrade. While we were catching up, he agreed that if I paid him the money necessary, he would go and research werewolves for me at the Daring Academy. I thought it best to help my bros Tim and Sampson learn as much as possible about their lycanthropy. But also. I needed to know if it would it really be safe if I joined them and agreed to being bitten?