Perrinor

Session 22 (July 9, 2023)

Last session, our heroes explored a cave that they had tracked some magpies to, hoping for treasure. They fought their way through a few caverns filled with humanoid skeletons and some coins. Rormir attempted to convince a magpie to abandon its habit of stealing shiny objects out of interest of protecting its chicks. While he was not successful in convincing it, he did explain to it how to collect treasures more safely, avoiding people with swords and limiting the amount stolen.

Elias went on ahead of Rormir and Heph, using his Rope of Climbing to cross a wide chasm and entering into the final chamber of the cave. There he saw many magpies, as well as a giant Flock Queen who detected his presence and gave chase. Heph and Rormir arrived and agreed to help as long as Elias would be a team player and share any loot. He convinced them that he would do so, and the party set about non-lethally dispatching the remainder of the magpies, including the Queen. During the fight, an amulet tied to the Queen’s leg was activated, producing a powerful wall of wind that injured Rormir and Heph. Elias then used Mage Hand to grab the amulet. The final magpie, overwhelmed and afraid, fled the cave, leaving the party alone by the deep chasm.

• Elias hides the amulet from the flock queen in his pocket
  • Heph and Rormir do not see him do this
  • Heph asks about the amulet but Elias claims to not know anything about it
  • Elias ties off the Rope of Climbing and Heph and Rormir head across to the other side
  • The party finds 500 gold, they each take 150 and reserve 50 for Ana
  • As the group exits, the magpie Rormir convinced to keep his chicks safe is watching
  • He gives them each a piece of gold, which they begin to toss around and playfully fight over
  • The adult magpie gives Rormir a nuzzle appreciatively
  • That magpie seems to have a slightly higher intelligence and awareness of the world than he did previously, a lesser version of what Rormir did to Karrl
    • Something with how Rormir’s magic impacts animals in this world
  • Elias is confused why Rormir is giving the birds gold
  • Rormir explains that the birds are his friends, and Elias tries to convince Rormir that Rormir should give Elias more gold because they’re friends
• The party exits the cave, and the magpies that are in the sky have thinned out a bit
  • Ana is not by the entrance, but there is smoke rising from nearby further down the hill
  • Ana was there until recently, and the smell of meat cooking comes from the smoke
  • The party heads towards the rising smoke
  • Ana is there cooking magpie
  • Ana decided when the magpies all fled and the one left screaming that she didn’t need to continue keeping watch and took the opportunity to make the party lunch
  • The magpie tastes like a gamey chicken
  • Rormir realizes he maybe doesn’t want to eat meat anymore, and doesn’t partake
• The party continues towards Kolonie
  • Bloody Mary calls and asks them for a group name she can use for the ACE roster, and Heph tells her he’ll get back
  • Elias mentions he likes anonymity, and Rormir suggests the party be called Anonymous
  • They agree with Anonymous, but still have all their individual characters
  • Elias receives a sending from Mort, answering their questions from the previous day
  • Who hired the men? They weren’t hired, they were prisoners who were sold to Lucien Dynastic
  • One of them is named Gurt Pelor, from Holden, and his crime was failing to pay a tithe to the Hearth Master
  • The other is an elf named Tal Overstream, from a small settlement named Barkspring in the Morenwald, and his crime was officiating the marriage of an elf to an outsider human
  • Heph explains to the group that the Morenwald elves are kinda xenophobic and don’t like non-elves
  • Homophobia doesn’t really exist in this world
  • No additional details on the spell beyond what was learned from Identify, Mort hasn’t seen it before and thinks it was invented by Sentin Thornwillow
  • Elias asks if the agents knew Thornwillow
    • They heard his name thrown around during their imprisonment and sale but don’t think they’ve met him directly
  • Mort tells Elias that some shipments from their smuggling operation are getting lost at sea due to attacks by unknown ships and will keep him updated
  • As the party settles in for the night, Heph sets up the beacon, updates his parents, and they respond:
    • “Mort has been taking good care of the men. Also, he left us a bag of gold and made the shush hand gesture. Love you!”
  • Elias and Ana continue stealth training; she is slowly teaching him the art of Disguise
  • Elias cannot figure out where she is getting costumes from, and she doesn’t seem to be using any magic
  • She says that is a secret that will be revealed with time; it is a long road to become a Master of Disguise
  • After training, Elias pulls out rations and offers a cashew to Ana, which she says she hates
  • Heph looks up at the sky and sees so many more stars than he’s used to in the city of Ivalgo
  • Heph studies the stars for a while before going to sleep and can’t quite shake the idea that there are more stars than there should be as he drifts off (11 perception)
  • Rormir is meditating and talking to Karrl about going vegan
  • Karrl listens intently, and Rormir gets the sense that he is very intelligent and understands what Rormir says due to the magical connection
  • He watches Rormir patiently and serves as a rubber duck to talk through stuff
• In the morning, the party wakes up to the sound of sizzling and some pleasant smells
  • Ana has caught some rabbits and is cooking them
  • She has also gathered some berries and root vegetables for Rormir because she overheard him talking about going vegan
  • Elias eats the berries before Rormir can eat them
  • Karrl sees this and reports back to Rormir
  • Rormir is a little irked by this, he eats the roots but says he will keep the next nice thing from Elias
  • Elias promises to not eat the berries if there are only rabbits, but is overly specific
  • Heph notes this but does not mention it out loud
  • Through Rormir’s connection with Karrl, he has become super Observant
    • The magical flow of ability seems to go two ways
  • As the day draws to a close the party sees a small walled settlement appear over a crest
  • Rormir asks Elias about the hat he teleported, and Elias says he really wants to find it
  • Rormir tries to make it into a game, and Elias wants to gamble over it
  • Rormir agrees to bet on the hat, and offers up 5 gold
  • Elias agrees to 5 gold, and Heph holds onto the 10 gold until the bet is over
  • Ana seems interested in betting as well, but only wants to play dice games
• The party approaches the southern gate of Kolonie
  • Heph explains to the guards they are from Ivalgo and heading on to Bad Zamdorf for the convention
  • Rormir confuses them by saying he’s from another dimension
  • They decide to let the party into the city despite this since it is early evening and it’s near the end of their shift
  • Elias tips his non-existent hat and says “good dusk”, this confuses the guards, although they respond in kind
  • The party enters through the gate
  • The party heads to the stables, Rormir explains to the owner that the horses are from Ivalgo and he can bill the Governor
  • Rormir and Elias hand the stable hand their reins and walk away
  • Heph pays the stable hand for the horses, and pays for Elias and Rormir out of the bet money, leaving only 6 gold for the bet
• The party decides what to do next in Kolonie
  • The town is surrounded by a rough wooden wall, pikes and logs standing up forming a perimeter
  • It’s a fairly rustic town, very much in the desert
  • There are some small patches of grass, but it’s primarily sand
  • The wind has formed dunes out of sand around the hills
  • Vegetation is sparse and consists mostly of cacti and shrubbery which hugs the ground closely
  • The buildings are wood and clay brick, a bit of a wild west vibe
  • Heph notes there are some spots of the wall where sand is piled on the outside, but it’s largely kept clear
  • When Heph looks back, Elias has attempted to climb up a watch tower for a view
  • Elias gets about a third of the way up, makes eye contact with a guard, loses his footing, and falls
  • Ana walks over as Elias is laying on the ground and offers to teach him to climb ladders
• Heph had previously asked the stable owner (after tipping) for information about the town, in terms of where to stay and eat
  • The Blue Barrel Inn is 5 silver per night, and the Leuenberger is 2 gold per night
  • The inns and shopping are in the town center, the Blue Barrel is in the Outland Scatter
  • Heph asks about the Dune Port out of town
  • They are currently closed due to a massive and unprecedented carapskit migration through the desert
    • It’s unusually early and the carapskit are in unusually large number and give off a strange turquoise glow
  • The stable owner pulls a poster down that asks for assistance clearing out the carapskit from the travel routes
    • An expedition is scheduled for the next day
  • While this is happening, Elias has climbed and fell from the tower
  • The stable owner pauses and seems to think maybe the party isn’t the best group for the task
  • Karrl was watching and laughing, Rormir was distracted being Rormir
  • Heph meets up with the group and relays the information
  • The plan is to get shopping done, stay in the Blue Barrel Inn, and then go help clear the infestation the next day
• Rormir and Heph head off into the town to do some shopping
  • Elias notes the Outland Scatter is a bit outside the town center, there seem to be accommodations and a theater
  • As the party heads towards the Town Center, they see in a prominent space there is a large statue of a man, standing very tall, maybe 20 to 30 feet tall, wearing leather loose fitting clothes, leaning on a shovel
  • On top of his head is a blue pointy hat covered in silver stars
  • There is a group of people bowing to the statue and chanting in makeshift blue robes
  • Rormir sends Karrl to fetch the hat as soon as he sees it
  • As Karrl heads back, Elias casts Sleep on Karrl, and he falls
  • Elias flips his cloak to be a perfect blue, uses Mage Hand to catch Karrl and the hat, and gives Rormir a look like “I did it”
  • He says “Oh there’s my hat” and dusts it off, the assembled folks look at Elias with awe and wonder
  • After briefly conferring, one steps forward and says “This is your hat?”
  • Elias says it is, and he lost it many a fortnight ago, the people start calling him the “Bearer of the Heavenly Cap” and then go silent
  • At this point Rormir is upset and shoots an arrow through the hat, attempting to pin the hat to the base of the statue
  • The robed individuals all start saying “He shot the heavenly cap”, Elias grabs the hat with Mage Hand to pull it back
  • Rormir shoots it again, and is angry enough that he is potentially destroying the hat without realizing it
    • It’s looking pretty torn and ragged now
  • The crowd of robed individuals is getting frustrated with Rormir, “Why are you shooting the heavenly cap”
  • Rormir and Elias argue over who owns the cap, but the robed individuals are already convinced that Elias is the owner
  • Heph uses his Seat Belt to recline back and watch, miming eating popcorn
  • Ana is with Heph, pretending to eat his popcorn
  • The leader of the crowd walks up and slaps Rormir across the face
  • Elias once again uses Mage Hand to bring the hat back, and Rormir once again shoots an arrow at the hat and knocks it out of his hand
  • The leader of the robed individuals pulls a rapier on Rormir, and Heph decides to step in and cast Thunderwave
  • The man is knocked out, Rormir is pushed back 10 feet, and Elias is hurt slightly
  • 3 more members of the crowd get angry and start to approach
  • Rormir pulls out the Hat of Vermin and starts shooting out bats at them
  • They grab their leader and retreat because the party is all powerful sorcerers
  • Rormir and Elias decide to call off the bet, Heph hands them each 3 gold and walks away
  • The hat is in bad condition, it’s really dirty and no longer pointy, it’s kind of ratty
  • Elias gives Rormir the stink eye and heads off after the cultists, who are heading towards a general store
  • Elias follows them in, as does Heph and Rormir
  • (Earlier Heph was informed that Kolonie doesn’t manufacture weapons, and they would be available for purchase at a general store)
  • Heph heals the leader, and the cultists chant “You have restored balance”
  • The leader introduces himself as Piki Barbat, the owner of the general store

Quotes

• “You need to behave” — Rormir to Elias
• “There’s other dimensions where you can marry an animal if you like” — Rormir
• “The next time I have something really nice I won’t give you any” — Rormir

Referenced in

• Calendar