Owe Me The Money! - 08/11/2022 - Archie’s Extracts
Nov 10, 2022 16:11:15 GMT
Jaezred Vandree likes this
Post by Andy D on Nov 10, 2022 16:11:15 GMT
On The Cavernous Seashank
It certainly felt as if the establishment suited the clientele. This was a snobbish thing to have written, but it isn’t untrue. The Gilded Mirror this is not. In the Mirror, if a gentleman was showing signs of urgently requiring the rapid expulsion of his stomach’s content; he would be escorted post haste towards the facilities. Or, if the individual had proven themselves unwelcome; the door. The spilling of one's lunch from within and on to the floor did not appear to be an expulsion worthy act at the Seashank.
On Adventuring Allies - New and Familiar
Taz - This is the red dragonborn fighter acquaintance that Kavel told me about. Kavel thinks of the man as his fellow ship captain friend. Having met Taz, I see no reason why it wouldn’t be true that Taz liked Kavel. The problem with my half-giant friend’s statement is more to do with his own claim on being a ship captain - he is exaggerating and under the misapprehension that he is the ship captain of The Legacy.
Taz is quite a straight forward individual. Tim promised him gold for a service. Taz provided the service. Tim did not pay. Now, Taz wants his owed money and Tim’s head. I feel the crime does not quite suit the punishment Master Taz has in mind. But, I do not blame him for being aggrieved and furious at his contract not being fulfilled. In addition, from what I came to learn of this fellow, Tim, it seemed maybe Taz’s desire for decapitation might be best for the greater good…
Varga - Completing the frontline of the adventuring party I was with when investigating the whereabouts of Tim, was Varga, Kavel’s thicc-boi comrade, the half-orc fighter. I was impressed with the craftsmanship she displayed with her leatherworking skills - although the actual finished product isn’t to my own personal liking. A Broom of Flying doesn’t seem enhanced to me by adding a shark motif to it.
Lord Jaezred Vandree - Quite the gentleman, this was my first time adventuring with the drow arcane master. But, not the first time we had met. I enjoyed a fine selection of whiskies with the lord a while ago at the Rock Bottom where we discussed the gambling hall ransoms and Tim’s likely culpability. It was Lord Vandree who recommended I assist further with locating the criminal.
Anåbæl - One of my allies from the mission where we attempted to apprehend the gambling hall terrorist rejoined me; Ana, my multi talented goliath friend. When we met at the Seashank, Ana came down the stairs from the guest's quarters. I do hope Ana is looking after herself, It wouldn’t be by choice that I would reside at the Seashank.
On Adventuring Sponsorship
I would love to see more sponsorship from merchants with deep pockets like the owner of the OMTC. Study of the arcane is not known for being inexpensive. The trade-off of losing the right to control exactly what adventures you pursue may be worth the cost, if you find yourself tight on funds.
On The Activities of the At Large Tim
There is a whole list of criminal records now associated with the Academy’s Tim. Most of which I was not familiar with until recently:
- Killing innocent animals
- Unpaid contracts with adventurers
- Attempted to blow-up the gambling dens of the Dawnlands
- Acquired/Stole a powerful artefact - Talisman
- Tunnelling to Daring Heights with the use of a Sphere of Annihilation
- Motives? Unknown
- Location? Unknown
On Magical Playing Cards and Ink
A man much around my own age, mid to late fifties, a fisherman walked into the Seashank.
I am well read in medicine. I lack the healing talents of my friend, Mendal. But, my help would not go unappreciated at the Healing Tent. It didn’t, however, require much expertise in medicine to notice that the middle-aged fisherman who walked into the Seashank and ordered a rum, was about to be seasick all over the floor
There was one detail about the man that stood out above the emptying of his stomach contents; the matching tattoo he had with Varga of the Grung village. The tattoo comes from picking a card at random from a magical deck. Decks like these have appeared many times - during adventuring missions related to Tim. Sven, our fisherman friend, passed out soon after informing us where he found the deck of cards.
On a Magical Hideout and its Traps
Following the coastal path north, two hours later, we discovered the fishing hut where Sven found the magical deck of cards, and in addition a stone stairway to a basement. There was a carving of a red fish above the entrance; a symbol Tim was using and that could be found on the back of the cards.
While I was busy performing the Detect Magic ritual, and Lord Vandree himself the Arcane Eye ritual; our ‘muscle’ had already entered the hut. Poor Varga had triggered a trap that cursed her with the inability to access her fighting skills for almost all her weapons. (I do hope she has been able to get the curse removed.)
The rituals now performed; Lord Vandree sent the Arcane Eye down the stairs to scout ahead. My own ritual detected a hidden enchantment glyph inside the wood of the hut by the door. Varga smashed the door, and the walls came down.
I brought out the manifested mind of my awakened spellbook to join Lord Vandree’s Arcane Eye in scouting.
Corridor of Mud and Fire - As alerted by Lord Vandree, when we descended the stairs, we came across a large, long tunnel lit by eight torches held against the walls in sconces. The floor was caked in mud, four inches thick. There was an iron grate door on the opposite end of the room.
Our frontline walked ahead. Poor Taz triggered a pressure sensitive plate beneath the mud in the centre of the room, which also set off a bear trap meant to keep him where he was, as the eight torches fell into the mud, and began spreading fire from an undetected source of gas. Varga aided Taz with the bear trap, and Ana kindly assisted me with her greater speed to carry me through the limited safe space that remained unblocked by flame. I resorted to using the Absorb Elements spell to reduce the amount of burn damage I received nevertheless, despite Ana’s great assistance.
Corridor of Bees/Wasps - Enough good things cannot be said for the Arcane Eye and Manifested mind. Through their vision we were able to spot paper thin spots in the ceiling and in the stone floor, where we could hear the sound of insects awaiting passersby. With our guidance, the party were able to navigate around the problem spots and avoid being attacked by swarms of insects.
Poisoned Wine Glasses - The room contained two benches with seating either side. Both benches had glasses full with wine. My Detect Magic spell alerted us to the enchantment magic within the liquid. There was also, within a velvet pouch, a deck of cards.
Despite my own warning, as I passed by the glasses of wine, I felt compelled to have a drink. The bitter aftertaste was horrible, and yet still I drank, as the vessel refilled itself and grew in size. I was being poisoned and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Varga and her magical dog Manny were equally caught up in the trap. Varga, however, managed to free herself through force of will. Ana tried to help me, but ended up joining me for a drink. It was Lord Vandree’s sharpshooting skills with his Eldritch Blast spell that saved us, by blasting the glasses out of our hands.
On Tim
Tim is a forty-something year old human. From engaging in his trapped rooms and in combat with the man, it is clear he has a liking for outsmarting his opposition. He is a more proficient and powerful wizard than me and well prepared for all eventualities. We had discovered that he had been making these decks of magical cards in the underground room where we encountered him. There were many notes around several tables and amongst them posters for the Winter Fair. We had gathered quite a bit of information on Tim, and yet remain unclear what his motives are. Why attack the gambling halls? What plan does he have for the talisman and more worryingly, the Sphere of Annihilation? Why all the markings on the Academy blueprints? There was no parlay with Tim. He meant to engage us, as soon as we discovered him.
One question to do with the mystery that is Tim was, however, answered. The question; why did he appear naked before us… it is because he was a clone of himself.
Before Tim could engage us, I managed to act first and launch modified Scorching Rays, ‘Psychic Rays’ at him. He had a defensive spell around him that made me miss two of three attempts to hit him - I must research this spell of his!
Ana triggered another of Tim’s pre-prepared defensive spells. It was a combo of spells. As soon as Ana was in melee range with Tim, he managed to banish her from the field of combat. This seems like the combination of the Banishment spell and the Contingency spell. I only recently learnt the Glyph of Warding spell, which is what Tim used to boobytrap the playing cards and dice in the many gambling halls of the Dawnlands. After facing Tim; I have learned there are more spells he knows that could serve me well.
Lord Vandree managed to cast the Polymorph spell on himself without a verbal component. This was a particularly interesting example of sorcery, as was the hideous large spider known as a drider that he polymorphed into.
Varga was already handicapped with the curse from earlier making her lose her proficiency with weapons that she was a master of. Tim’s defensive spells were in addition making it more difficult to land an axe. Tim did cast the Shield spell at one point though, as his defensive barrier failed him. I was able to assist Varga by using the Counterspell to make Tim’s Shield spell fail. As a result, Varga landed a terrifyingly deep slashing wound on Tim. Taz, making good on his earlier spoken desires then stepped forward and sliced Tim’s head off of his naked body. Both parts of Tim collapsed to the ground, and Ana reappeared back in the spot she vanished from.
On Cloning
Taz informed us that he received a magical communication from Tim-prime, informing him on how he will get his revenge for killing his clone; which incidentally is a costly procedure.
I had mentioned to Lord Vandree that Cloning was something I would look into for human longevity. However, the cost of pursuing this appears to be financially burdensome. This does not seem like it will be the solution for all humanity, unless the cost of production can be greatly reduced. The wonderful thing about the spell however, is that the clone need not be as biologically aged as the original. The clone can be more youthful. Perfect!
On Tim’s Magical Deck of Cards and Their Effects
An additional deck of cards was discovered. Varga explained her own experience of seemingly gaining experience by drawing one of these cards at random. If we are to face Tim again, I could do with a rapid acceleration in my arcane skills. However, I do not like the odds of the draw. I was warned of some bad outcomes. Taz, more bold than I, drew three cards.
In one draw, Taz had to fight to the death, a Spectre of Death! He is vastly more equipped than I to do so, which he did with ease. Taz, in another draw, similarly gained the same benefit as Varga and also felt like he had grown in talent. Taz also, on another draw, acquired a leonin fighter sworn to his aid. Two of three were good draws, but I simply cannot risk having to fight a Spectre of Death.
Along with whatever was ‘gifted’ from the cards, Taz received a tattoo of somewhere in Kantas on his body; Daring Heights, Fort Ettin and D’Avalon. He felt two of three were not good draws.
