Far Isles Session # 77 - How to Kill A Wizard

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
Chaff (Vivimancer 6), with familiar Pretty Bird 

Torak (Cleric 6) 
Kwinsea (Aquamancer 6), with familiar Hermes and henchman Jaz (Elf 3)

Awg Wahmn (Calmonari 5)

The "Little Dolphin Inn" jutted out over the Pool, so the party had been taking turns keeping watch from the upper floor for a vessel that matched the description of Calcidius' "Blind Fury". On their sixth day in Xin, such a vessel appeared in the inner harbor. Chaff sent Pretty Bird aloft to spy on the small sailing ship as it docked about four hundred yards down the waterfront. As the ship maneuvered to pull into a mooring, Pretty Bird spied the wizard on deck talking to three men. Identity confirmed, the party rolled into action. The first step was to draw the wizard to them. Awg had the charmed merman Gurps swim over to taunt the wizard, calling him names and saying the party was waiting for him at the "Little Dolphin". The wizard  got more and more enraged, then quickly raised his hand and shot a fistful of magic missile at the unfortunate Gurps, who rolled over dead and sank to the bottom. Calcidius then turned to the three standing on deck with him. One suddenly disappeared, while the other two accompanied Calcidius below as the crew brought the "Blind Fury" into the dock.

The Little Dolphin Inn

Back at the inn, Chaff relayed the outcome of the taunting as seen through Pretty Bird's eyes. Expecting trouble, everyone started to get ready.  First of all, they cleared the inn by telling the patrons the fireball flinging wizard was coming., That got rid of most of them pretty fast, although it took more convincing to get Josiah the owner and his wife to leave.  The musketeers were placed in the windows on the upper floor with orders to shoot anyone matching Calcidius' description.  Chaff stripped down and cast transparency on himself, and smeared a dose of oil of true seeing on his eyelids. They assumed Calcidius' henchman had turned invisible, and this way Chaff (who went to hide outside) could see him. Jaz used some of the oil as well, then grabbed some wine and settled down with a half dozen winos out front to act drunk and keep an eye out for trouble. Inside, Awg charmed one of the inn's dolphins (just in case); Kwinsea used her scroll of control weather to summon a rainstorm in the hopes it would dampen any fireballs that got tossed around; and Torak cast a glyph of warding on the doorway. 

And then they waited, occasionally having to turn away tavern customers so they didn't trigger the glyph. It seemed to take forever,  but after about a half hour, Jaz noted someone approaching the inn. He was dressed in leather armor, and no one else walking the streets seemed to notice him as he slunk along the walls and worked his way around the "Little Dolphin". Best guess that this was Calcidius' spy, so when he got close to Jaz, she cast a web and glued him to the building on the opposite side of the alley. That startled the drunks, but liberal application of a few more bottles of wine settled them down. Chaff and Jaz approached the still invisible spy, and started to question him. The fellow, Dak by name, was entirely uncooperative even when threatened with violence and death. Dak was more scared of what Calcidius might do if he ratted the wizard out, that he was of a few scruffy adventurers. Torak came out and tried to command Dak to cooperate, but that didn't work either. The fear of Calcidius was too deeply ingrained. So they slit his throat, and left the invisible body webbed to the wall. 

At about this point, Pretty Bird relayed a view to Chaff of the other two of Calcidius' henchman leaving the ship and headed their way. They were generally acting normally, but obviously on alert and watching each others backs. They got to a point where they could see the "Little Dolphin", and then retreated a few blocks to casually take up station and wait. They stayed for almost an hour, looking around, up and down, before heading back to the "Blind Fury". Pretty Bird saw them board ship and go below. She kept watching but saw nothing else except sailors at work on the deck. 

This left the party in a dilemma; do they stay at the inn where they are prepared for Calcidius, or take the fight to him? After a short discussion, they decided to take the fight to him. Kwinsea, Awg, and the his/her charmed dolphin dropped into the water and swam towards the "Blind Fury". The calmonari had the instant fortress tucked in his belt, the ring of invisibility on one finger and a stone with silence 15' radius (courtesy of Torak) in one hand. Jaz meanwhile stumbled along acting drunk to keep an eye out from the landward side, while Chaff (still transparent) led the musketeers along some distance behind her. When the swimming duo reached the ship, Kwinsea and the dolphin held back to watch while Awg climbed up the stern and onto the deck. There was no one on the stern castle, but a half dozen sailors performed various task on the main deck below. The calmonari, invisible and silent, crept over to the edge of the stern castle. Once there, he tossed the silenced rock towards the dock, quickly shouted the command word for the instant fortress, and then dove into the water. The fortress instantly appeared on deck. It seemed to hover for a moment, and then crashed down through the decks, before toppling over into the water.  However, by that time, the stern of the "Blind Fury was completely wrecked, and the rest of the ship started to flood and settle into the water as the sailors all dove overboard or jumped down on the dock and ran. 

On shore, chaos ensued as the crowds reacted to the destruction. Awg and Kwinsea waited to see if Calcidius appeared, but there was no sign of the wizard. At about this point Torak, having used the shark spear to turn into a shark, appeared alongside his companions (scaring away the dolphin in the process). By now, a thin sheen of blood and bits of crushed flesh started to drift out from the wrecked ship.  Some of the body parts were draped in Calcidius' robes, so the party sighed in relief that he seemed to have been in the stern cabin and not the bow. Torak had cast detect magic before transforming, and he honed in on on mashed hand with a still intact ring on it, which he scooped up in his mouth. Awg meanwhile said the command word for the instant fortress again and returned to normal size, which caused yet a greater stir on the docks.  By this time the Chaff-led musketeers had arrived, and were immediately accosted by one of the squads of the Purple who'd likewise arrived on the scene. Sergeant Wilhelm talked the musketeers out of trouble, saying they'd heard the commotion and came to help. But there were way too many guardsmen and hysterical people around for comfort, so Chaff, Jaz and the musketeers retreated to the "No Man's Sea", as did the three in the water. They decided to avoid the "Little Dolphin Inn" for now, except to go back, pay off the innkeeper with  700gp of hush-money, and gather their things, plus the invisible body of Dak (which they later found was also wearing a magic ring)    

"Do What?!?"

Deciding this would be an excellent time to lay low, the party decided to get out of town for a few days and follow up on Kwinsea's quest to collect a sample of the stomach contents from the Tentacled beast of the Vasak Depths. They sailed out to the appropriate location, and Team Aquatic (Awg, Kwinsea and Torak-shark) jumped into the water. Kwinsea first cast a summon aquatic monster spell, which gained her a half dozen hooded seals to help. These she sent into the depths to draw up the Beast. About 10 minutes later, the seals swam by at high speed to hide behind Kwnisea. And then out of the inky darkness came the Beast itself. Kwinsea, having taken the time to cast speak with aquatic animals, greeted to beast and asked it to parley. She was looking for it's help, and offered whatever the Beast would desire in return. The Beast was hesitant at first, but agreed to listen. Kwinsea laid out her need for stomach contents, and the Beast insisted it would need a full meal to replace what it disgorged. Making sure they couldn't hear here, Kwinsea offered the seals as a meal. The beast agreed, and proceeded to spew forth a massive cloud of vomitous discharge, which the aquamancer scooped up in a specially prepared sack. She then directed the seals to their doom, and the Beast charged into their midst and started snapping them up. At this point, the party got out of the way, returned to the surface and thence back to Xin. Kwinsea then went off to meet with Xerious to give him his squid vomit, and then sat down with the naked aquamancer to learn her new spell. Chaff likewise took the opportunity to seek out Lady Volana with a bag full of collected fingers to do the same. 

TOTAL XP

7160

GAINS
Ring of Protection +1

Ring of Protection +1

KILLS

Calcidius the Insane Wizard
Philidona and Cymar [Swashbucklers]
Dak [Thief]

LOSSES
Gurps the Merman
6 Hooded Seals

Far Isles Session #76 - Back to Xin

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
Chaff (Vivimancer 6), with familiar Pretty Bird and Riding Dog Puppy Whuppy

Torak (Cleric 6) 
Kwinsea (Aquamancer 6), with familiar Hermes and henchman Jaz (Elf 3)
Rodrigo (Swashbuckler 6) 

Awg Wahmn (Calmonari 5)

Before taking leave of Bellephrone, the party plunked down some of their hard earned gold to have her identify a few of their new magic items. The gem recovered from the dragons' haord was found to be a gem of brightness. The shield Jaz had been carrying since the stone ships was known as a bull's eye shield; it would repeal all non-magical thrown weapons as long a the wielder had never fled combat while carrying the shield. They also took the opportunity to have Bellephrone take care of Jaz's swollen tongue, restoring the elf's spell casting (and talking) abilities. 

Their business at the Anchorage complete, the party returned to the "Purple Haze" and made their way back to Xin. Three days later, they found themselves approaching the city as night was falling. There had been extensive discussion along the way about how best to get them and their treasure into Xin; did they want to try sneaking it in to avoid taxes or just take the hit and stay on the laws' good side? In the end, they decided to just pay their share, hiding only some of the more valuable and portable items in the hollow figurehead. The bulk of the coin and precious metals were left free in the hold. Met at the river chain by a customs inspector and a boatload of the Purple, the party let them aboard for inspection. The guards accompanying the inspector into the hold filched a few silver coins, but the customs man himself seemed straight as an arrow and assessed them an 8% tax with no expectation of a  'donation'. Chaff did offer a small gratuity (600gp) for the customs guild to ensure any record of their treasure was buried in paperwork for a few days, until it could be properly hidden away. He was also pressed for information on Calcidius, and the inspector recalled the wizard had shipped out of the city about two weeks ago aboard a scuzzy vessel named the "Bind Fury". 

With customs compete, the ship took on a pilot to bring them into the Fogbound Quays. The next day they paid off the crew and let them disappear into the taverns, but paid the musketeers a bonus to hang around and stand guard over the ship while the party went about their business. This business included:

• Getting their treasure into safe keeping. Chaff dressed up in his best robes, and accompanied by their musketeer Sergeant Wilhelm, headed for the Hill of Gold. Making inquires, he was directed to the premises of a goldsmith by the name of Mesophan. He operated a series of vaults in which many of the nouveau-rich of the city kept their gold. He cut a deal with Chaff to store their gold for a fee of 1% per quarter on the first 250000gp deposited (and lessor fees thereafter), first and last quarters fee paid up front. Suddenly feeling that their hoard was grossly inadequate, Chaff agreed to the terms and deposited 50000gp. But he was rebuffed when he requested an inspection of the vaults. Mesophan did not want anyone to see how he protected his clients' treasure.  So Chaff instead walked away with a contract and series of promissory notes to use around town for their large purchases. 

• The first large purchase was a new ship; the party was feeling cramped in the confines of the "Purple Haze". Taking Lynessa (who signed on for another voyage), they combed the docks looking for vessels for sale. In particular, they wanted a larger ship, but one that was somewhat faster. In the end they settled on the "No Man's Sea", a smaller than usual 3-masted caravel with a narrow hull built for speed. They hired a temporary crew and took her out into the Pool for a test run, finding that it was indeed a fine vessel for their purposes. They sold the "Purple Haze" for 6500gp, and then paid 25000gp for the "No Man's Sky".

• Next step was to go looking for potions. Healing potions as usual, but also some potions of fire resistance as they expected to deal with the fireball flinging Calcidius before too long. Torak and Kwinsea headed for the temple of Brall, and were troubled to find the front of it burned and shattered, crawing with workmen making repairs. Torak went inside to ask after the Munificent Submercer Oha, but was told the high cleric had been killed by a madly raging wizard who came to the temple looking for someone. Torak was introduced to the new Munificent Submercer Naphates, but that meeting ended quickly when Torak let it slip that he and his companions were the ones for whom the wizard had been looking. He was forthright dragged from the premises and informed he should find another temple at which to worship. Torak and Kwinsea when to check with Brother Keera at the Temple of the Three Virtues, but found that it too has been destroyed and the good Brother along with it. Hum, this Calcidius was making it difficult to do business. In the end, they purchased a supply of 5 potions of fire resistance from Gorbo the Alchemist; he had a number on hand given there was a sudden upswing in demand. They commissioned 3 more for later pickup. They also managed to track down 6 healing potions at the lotus-smoke temple of Garu Dar.

• Chaff and Kwnisea both went looking for someone to teach them new spells. Chaff learned that one of his previous contacts, Domai, has run into Calcidius and was no more. Lady Volana was still around however, and she was willing to teach him some new incantations.In addition to the usual monetary fee, she was looking for additional 'parts' for her studies. In particular, she needed six fingers, taken from six different living people. Kwinsea meanwhile tracked down an aquamancer by the name of Xerious the Free. Free in the naked sense, as the wizard liked to 'feel the water on his skin'; he was found wandering around the docks wearing nothing but a large tattoo of a kraken on his back. Kwinsea was looking for some enchantments to help speed up their ship; when she found that a permanent enchantment on the hull would be prohibitively expensive, she settled instead for instruction in one of the wind or ship repair spells. In return, Xerious demanded she bring him a sample of the stomach contents of the Tentacled Beast of the Vasak Depths, a giant squid that lived in a deep underwater canyon just off Xin. Both Chaff and Kwinsea walked away from their respective patrons trying to figure out a way to fulfill their quests. 

• Rodrigo likewise went looking for someone to enchant his dragon parts, but was appalled at how much it would cost. In the end he sold off the skin (1100gp), keeping only the skull (to be mounted on their new ship) and the teeth.

• Awg went to visit the calmonari craftsmen to pick up the work of jeweled art they'd commissioned the last time they were in Xin. It was ready, and consisted of a large abstract latticework structure studded with gems, and which resembled different oceanic scenes depending on the angle from which it was viewed. This large object (now worth 18000gp) was enshrined in a place of honor on the "No Man's Sea". 

The Sculpture

• Speaking of their new vessel, the party tasked asked Lynessa with preparing the "No Man's Sea" for sea. They had the hollow figurehead removed from the "Purple Haze" for installation on their new vessel. Likewise, the catapult was transferred to the new ship, and a second was purchased so they had one at the bow and one at the stern. They also had a few other modifications made; a series of cages below the stern in which to collect fancy fish for H'sslik ,and a false hold to hide more coin next time. Lynessa also ordered four months of provisions and trolled the docks for crew, the new vessel requiring 70 sailors before putting to sea.  

All this activity took time, and the "No Man's Sea" was going to take a few weeks to modify and outfit. The party decided to stay in to an inn for the interim, settling into a rustic little place called the "Little Dolphin", which had a common room open to the harbour below where the patrons could pay to swim with the dolphins (Kwinsea chose the location). But they didn't forget about the danger from Calcidius, and took turns keeping an eye on the vessels coming into port to see if the "Blind Fury" returned. And lucky they did, for just a few days later the hard looking ship sailed back into Xin ... 

TOTAL XP

1100 (from sale of dragon parts)

GAINS

None

KILLS

None

LOSSES

None