Merry met, Friends! Welcome to another installation of Quarantine Questers.
Something that has been on this scribe’s mind for some time is that this group needs a new name. The Great Pestilence of 2020-21 inspired the group’s original and present moniker, and now, well, it’s time for a new one.
Mull it over in your minds.
Anyway…
Fiona: Lightfoot Halfling Rogue (Jenny)
Thalia: High Elf Wizard (Kurt)
Gallant: Wood Elf Fighter (Christina)
Ahfa: Human Paladin (Brent)
Zulu: Dwarf Cleric (Javin)
Welcome back to another rousing evening of shenanigans in the City of Greyhawk! Our audacious adventurers have been carousing and reveling and finding out all of the things.
It has been established that there are several interesting side pursuits that our party could follow. And on this fine afternoon, basking the glories of their performance at the Dark Moon Monastery contest, they opt to make some inquires at Nulligan’s Trove. Namely, what is the scroll the party found in the quartermaster’s rooms in the ruins?
The very short trek from the DM Monastery to Nulligan’s is BRIMMING with fun tidbits of conversation, including (but not limited to):
- There are virtually no differences between Adnil, Advil, and Anvil.
- Nobody saw Thalia get sucker-punched during the contest.
- Ahfa cautions the group against the use of any fire, seeing as Gallant has not fully wiped the bodybuilder oil off.
A group roll (and success) on a Deception check means the party does not divulge that they’ve been to Castle Greyhawk when Nulligan asks. Thalia makes a “Ride the Lightning” comments when she learns (by way of Fiona) what spell the scroll contains.
In other news, the cleric and the rogue notice a fancy treasure-looking chest on Nulligan’s counter-top. Zulu’s attempt to distract the clerk while Fiona has a closer look fails, and in the end, the pair simply ends up asking about the chest’s contents. Nulligan is more than happy to indulge.
Inside the chest are these items: two rings, a flask of potion, a wand, and a beaded purse. Nulligan explains the first ring is a Ring of Telekinesis. At this point, Thalia is feeling twitchy and decides cast Mage Hand to attempt to touch/lift/take the ring. As her silvery phantom hand moves towards the chest, the object (now feeling under threat) lashes out in an attempt to bite Thalia.
Ahhhh…it’s a Mimic and biting is a defense mechanism. Which Thalia learns shortly after taking 11 points of icky teeth damage.
Fiona inquires, “Do you have any insurance? Our friend got hurt.” To which Nulligan sniffs and states,“You can’t be touching stuff without permission.”
Ahfa lays hands on Thalia, and at this point Gallant interjects, with a fun little TMI tidbit, “Oh by the way, I swing both ways.”
The charade of secrecy appears to be wearing thin with Ahfa, who finally admits to Nulligan that yes, they have been to Castle Greyhawk in recent days. At that point, the old man softens and states to Ahfa that he (or the party) might be interested in the second ring (The Apprentice’s Ring).
The other items in the chest include: A Potion of Giant Strength, A Wand of Paralysis, and A Bag of Holding. Our party is excited to have access to such magical items…until Nulligan relays the prices: 800 gp (Telekinesis), 1000 gp (Apprentice Ring), 200 (Potion), 5000 (Wand), and 500 (Bag). Obviously these are rare and/or legendary items and the party inquires about trade.
With a glint in his eye, Nulligan mentions he might be willing. When the party asks, “Is there something we could trade you or retrieve for you?” The old man comments that if the party could somehow obtain the legendary sword called The Blade of Chaos, he would part with some of these items.
OF COURSE that’s the same sword Ricard Damaris has asked the party to keep an eye out for. Upon inquiring, Nulligan provides a description of the sword (Iron, laced with mithril, silver end with emeralds, handle in green leather).
In further stern storekeeping manner, Nulligan informs Gallant that, No, they cannot try the apprentice’s ring on. He requests payment for the scroll translation and plays cagey when the party wants to know if there’s any reason why Ricard should not have the sword back. Hmm…the party soon departs – perhaps with more questions and concerns than when they went in.
Since our plucky players pass RIGHT BY the Low Seas Tavern en route to the GDI, they decide to pop inside. Motive for exactly why is unclear: maybe to find Anthony, Amalia, or Yannos? At any rate, Thalia casts Mage Armor on herself. She’s suffered enough ouchies for one day.
The Low Seas Tavern is a smaller establishment, dimly lit, and a little more gritty than the GDI. And it is apparent immediately that it is an establishment for regulars, and the atmosphere for our questers borders on hostile. There are yellow-and-purple garments aplenty and the group is finally welcomed by a man who introduces himself as Oliver. It doesn’t take a major Perception check to see that Oliver may manage the place, but the Rhennee bargefolk truly run it.
After the party explains there is a champion in their midst (Gallant) and what the occasion was (Dark Moon Monastery), Oliver buys Gallant a drink. There is an awkward moment in the pub when Gallant poses for the crowd. Zulu smooths things over by buying a round for everyone.
Ahfa takes his drink over a to a table where two bulky Rhennee men sit. He thinks they look a little familiar, but he gets himself into hot water by flat-out asking if they know Anthony (they don’t) and if they’ve seen Amalia around (they haven’t). When the two men growl irritatedly, Ahfa beats it out of the tavern hurriedly, claiming to have drank too much and that he feels unwell.
Gallant (with that confident aplomb we’ve all come to expect), and later Fiona, are left to manage the conversation at the table, during which the two men explain they felt defensive with the way the paladin started asking intrusive questions.
Gallant: “Hahaha. I see you tried to have a conversation with my good friend here. He doesn’t get out much. He asks about things he shouldn’t.” The talk lightens incredibly when Gallant asks about the ladies and the “action” in this joint. Also, Gallant keeps the drink flowing by buying more rounds.
Fiona also makes a significant contribution as well here: “I’m sorry about that, but “Cheers!” Bosses, aren’t they the worst?” To which the DM assigns Fiona one Inspiration Point.
Meanwhile, Zulu heads outside and joins his fellow brother of the cloth on a bench outside the Low Seas.
Ahfa: “I really have drank too much holy water. I thought they were going to jump me. But maybe we need to jump them. They should be easy targets.”
Zulu’s response to this is unclear, but after a few moments, the cleric reenters the tavern. He is pleased to note that the two men seem in much better spirits and appear to have forgiven Ahfa’s interrogation. He also finds out the two men’s names are Ivar and Kruk.
Zulu then inquires about “Ambrosia”. Ivar and Kruk seem to catch on rather quickly, shushing Zulu at once. They understand Zulu means Amalia, claiming she’s Yannos’ third wife. They go on to state that, “Yannos is an incredibly jealous man. He wants us to beat you because he found out you had spoken with her. But, Amalia is kind and nice and doesn’t deserve how she’s treated.”
The tavern party mulls this over for several moments before Zulu asks if either of the two men have ever visited Castle Greyskull. They exchange a confused glance and Zulu corrects himself, “I mean, Castle Greyhawk.” Ivar and Kruk confess they’ve never been, but that they’ve heard tales about it. And then they exchange another meaningful glance. When Zulu offers the chance for them to adventure with the party, they seem reluctant and claim there are other “family” responsibilities to tend to here.
Fiona, with her keen eyes, notices the two men wear a ring on their fingers. When she comments on it and claims she found a similar ring in the ruins of Castle G, the tone immediately changes. The two Rhennee men sit up and demand to know how she came to it. It’s very clear that the presence of the ring throws the men off-guard, but they finally confess that if they found it in the depths of Castle G’s ruins, then it likely belongs to their brother Wilhelm, who was sent off to find riches in the ruins by Yannos two years ago. Another round of drinks later, Fiona explains the grisly manner in which Wilhelm was killed and Ivar and Kruk begin to grumble about Yannos’s greed and cold desire for power. The party takes advantage of vibe change to ask about roughing up college students, and sure enough, Ivar and Kruk explain Yannos sends the henchmen out regularly to establish dominance in the territory. And sometimes, he orders the men to do “just for fun.”
It should be noted that Ivar and Kruk are in a bit of a maudlin state, with all the drinking and especially after Fiona finally hands over the dead brother’s ring. They do then indicate that they often come to the Low Seas for a late afternoon pick-me-up…should the party want to converse more about…things. There was a definite feeling of general dislike for Yannos, amplified by the recent news of their brother’s death.
But, whether that translates into actual coup action remains to be seen.
In other exciting news, the shamefaced, fake-sick Ahfa still sits on the bench outside. During this time, an attractive woman sidles up and sits next to him. She’s likely just a friendly lady, but Ahfa, still traumatized by the succubus in the dungeons, informs her that he “is not that kind of person”. And she storms off in a huff.
Evening is coming on and the party decides it’s time to head back to the GDI. Briefly, they discuss plans for next time and they realize they need to be careful who they show the quartermaster’s paperwork to. The word that they’ve visited the ruins has gotten around, obviously, and that information may bring more than curious questions.
Caution should be exercised – that seems to be the order of the day.
Yours until Zagig appears in this mortal realm again,
Scribe Heather