5/5/2007

Players: Kathi, JC, Chris
Characters: DM, Elendil & Jolley, Billi

"You guys ready?" Billi asks starting to the door. "Hey! Who are you?"

Elendil and Jolley turn back to see a middle aged halfling poking his head around the door from the stairway watching them.

"Oh, uh, hello. My name is Bethan, Bethan Longtounge." The halfling comes into full view and does not seem threatening by any stretch of the imagination as he walks with a slight limp and has no obvious weapons. "I'm Teal's partner."

Elendil brings his full attention to Bethan. "My sister's partner. Do you know where she is?"

"No," Bethan says, "But I know where the cube is not. It's not here anymore."

"What?!?"

"It wasn't safe. Gwen wasn't safe because of it so I hid it again."

Elendil looks skyward. "So you have it?"

Bethan nods. "Yeah, but we shouldn't talk about it here. Look, I want to help find her." He says with sincerity. "We've been together for a long time."

Elendil takes a deep breath and looks over at Jolley.

"Hey brother, we still got something in here we gotta deal with." Jolley says pointing at the closed door as the shocker lizard contines to look on. "Let's do this and talk about it later."

"Wait!" Says Billi. "I want to turn Invisible first, and he does.

Jolley opens the door and Elendil, standing a bit to the side has a full view of the odd shaped room. There is a magnificent picture window with a great view of the city along the far wall but what really draws his attention is the wide variety of items floating in a very animated style around in the room. When he enters the door starts to swing closed rapidly and slam on him but the cleric springs forward out of the way and the door slams closed behind him.

MELEE

Elendil finds himself in battle with the items animated in the room, as do the others after they reopen the door and enter. There is also what could only be described as a seven foot snake with a single arm and claw hovering near the window. Billi, now insivible, entered and jumped up onto the bed, and as Jolley enters he is attacked by a dress, which tries to wrap around his head and smother him, and a coat rack which swings around and whacks him. The items attacking us include a set of earings, combs, books, chairs, the coat rack, a pencil, shoes, a pair of hair trimming scissors, an ink pen, and even the door which has tried to slam closed on everyone.

Jolley gets the better of the dress and actually uses it to whip the coat rack. (Note at this point there is much laughter and mirth as the question is asked "Did you hurt the dress?") Elendil tries to swing at the snake thing and does do some damage to the creature which is surprisingly quick. When it touches him (for minor damage) there is an unpleasant tingling sensation at the spot but it passes fairly quickly. Elendil get a few hits on it before Billi's Magic Missles finish the job. When it drops so do all the items animated by it.

As Billi looks around the room he finds several jars of Stone Salve. He hands one to Jolley and one to Elendil and the group goes back downstairs. Jolley uses the first on Gwen. It takes the entire jar but just as he is putting the last bit on the last part of her leg the magic takes hold and Gwen is back to normal. She thanks us after reorienting herself on the situation and end up giving us six anti-toxins, a box of 100 tinder twigs, an ever burning torch, four flasks of acid, and a pair of tanglefoot bags in gratitude.

We de-pertify the unfortunate shop patron who still looks pretty terrified. The man simply thrusts his coin pouch at Jolley in payment and runs out the door. (160 PP).

After things have settled down, and even Gwen's assistant has come back into the shop now that Gwen has used a spell to recapture the cockatrice, Elendil looks down at Bethan. "Now just what is going on?"

"Not here." Bethan says. "Let's go to my house for lunch, I have lots of food stockpiled and we'll be safe."

The group allows Bethan to lead us to his home but before setting out he casts a Disguise spell on himself and now looks just like Murial. He leads us on a rather circuitous route through the back alleyways but as we step out onto Bridge Street Elendil nearly runs over a dwarven woman and her companion, a slightly younger halfling woman. The dwarven woman begins to make a series of quick animated hand gestures to the halfling who looks up at Elendil.

"My sister says your knee's harder than the scale armor over a dragons tit and that you should be more careful to watch where you're going." The dwarf continues to gesture and Elendil pauses a moment before replying having recognized the code phrase Dorren said his contacts would use.

"I'm terribly sorry." He says to the halfling and then the dwarf. "I was distracted and should have been paying closer attention. Please, let me make it up to you somehow. My name is Elendil and these are my friends Billi, Jolley and Murial."

There dwarf makes some more hand gestures which the halfling watches for a moment. "It's nice to meet you." The halfling says extending her hand. "My name is Radori Muffinmuncher (not Muffmuncher, and there is more merriment) and this is my sister Gobriann Silentounge. She says if you're serious about making it up to her you can buy us a cup of 'klah' from that street vendor who's been following you. Oh, wait a minute, maybe not."

When Elendil turns to look the vendor is being questioned and detained by several uniformed Silver Knights.

How about the Ladybug Tavern for lunch then." Radori winks at him.

"I'm ready for lunch!" Billi chimes in.

Elendil smiles. "It would be my pleasure. Please, after you."

"Hang on," Radori says when we enter. "Let me get our usual table." She goes to talk to with one of the staff and the group is shown into a small private room with a table just large enough for the six of us. The food is spicy but very good and just as it is being set down in front of us Jolley challenges Billi to another eating contest. Billi considers the idea but decides he better not.

"We might have a busy day and I don't want to get too filled up." He says. Gobriann makes some more hand gestures and Radori tells us that Gobriann wants in on that eating contest and asks about the wager.

"Ten gold, winner take all." Jolley says. "But it doesn't have to be now."

"Can we talk here?" Elendil asks Radori in a low voice. The halfling nods. "Is there any word about my sister, any news about where she might be being held?

"No," Radori replies as she watches Gobriann gesturing some more. "We think she and he partner were member of a loosely organized group or rogues called The Band of the Hand but not much is known about them except that they seem mostly concerned with survival as opposed to organized gain. Apparently, and this is where it gets a little sketchy, they were hired to steal it for an elvish woman, someone named Zantha, but that's all we've been able to learn."

"I can fill in some more of the detail." Bethan says, letting his magical disguise fall away. "When we went to turn it over and collect our payment I was the one holding the cube and I realized before we got too close that it was somehow protecting me from her, from Zantha, and the she wasn't really a half moon elf at all but some kind of horrible creature."

Bethans description of a humanoid with pale purplish skin, large white pupilless eyes, three red clawed fingers, and tenticles that faded from dark purple to black at the ends where a beard would be is almost beyond belief and Elendil doesn't like the look of the picture that forms in his head.

"She didn't see it! It did something to her so she couldn't see it. I had to drag her away from there, I screamed at her but she wouldn't listen, and then all of a sudden she just stopped doing anything."

Gobriann taps on the table to draw our attention and signals to Radori who gasps. "A mind flayer!" Gobriann taps the table again and it takes her nearly a minute to convey her message. "She says they are creatures of the unknown deep, as evil as they are cunning, and always hungry."

Radori looks seriously at Gobriann who nods. "To them we are food."

Bethan pales a bit. "Tilandra was really out of it and it was all I could do to get her out of there. I was so scared all I could think to do was get to my mentors house. I knew she'd know what to do but it must have followed us. I gave the cube to Teal and we got out the back when it burst in."

Bethan hangs his head. "You saw what it did to my friend."

"The halfling woman found without memory, as if her mind had been completely wiped." Elendil realizes.

"When I realized later that's what had happened I didn't know what to do." Bethan says. "We laid real low for a couple of days and that's when Teal thought of asking you to help." The halfling looks at Elendil. "We've been together almost 16 years and I never knew she had a brother. The only time I remember her ever talking about it she told me she didn't have a family and never was a child."

"This is probably the time at which Arzhul became involved " Radori says. "His like would've been hired to find and retrieve it by any means possible."

Jolley nods. "That does make sense doesn't it."

"I told her to find some place really safe for it before she went out to contact you. That's when she took it to Gwen's. I didn't know she was going to tell Gwen to give it only to you but I think now that was probably the right thing to do." Bethan pauses taking a sip of his wine. "She must have gotten caught the other day when she went to get your message. Since then I've been kinda watching your back, making sure you weren't being followed by Arzhul or any of his henchmen."

"Elendil, he knows who you are. If there is anyone known to be close to you, your wife or children, you should protect them or at least warn them so they too can't be used against you."

At this, Elendil nods and gets a piece of parchment out to pen a quick note to his father, to be delivered to and through the Lady Hightower. He warns them both that men looking for himself may be watching Arondar's house, and asks that even though they are in no direct danger, would they consider being elsewhere until the the issue can be resolved, and to feel free to use the same messanger for a reply.

There is much discussion about the item, Arzhul, mind flayers, Rezenn Latessa and the situation as a whole is mulled over from many angles, including the idea of making a fake enchanted item if an exchange does turn out to be needed. It's mid-afternoon when Radori says they'd probably better report back to Dorren so the group breaks up.

"I do need to get home for some time." Bethan says now looking like Murial again. "I'll catch up with you later."

Billi, Jolley and Elendil decide to go back to the Dancing Goat to see if there's a reply to the message Elendil left following the meeting with Arzhul but before they get there a carraige pulls up in front of them and stops. It's Rezenn who says she has information for us from her employer. We get into the carraige which starts to roll and she tells us that Teal is being held captive in a ruined temple out of town and being guarded by a group of 22 clerics of Bane.

"Were you able to retrieve the cube?" She asks.

"No," Elendil says honestly. It was removed by someone before Gwen could give it to me. I have a lead in the search but have not had a chance to pursue it.

"Oh that's too bad." Rezenn says. "But here, take these anyway." She hands Elendil a couple pieces of parchement." One is a map to the temple and the other is a detailed layout of the upper level where she is being held. He understands if you want to rescue Teal before worrying about the cube, but please, the offer is still open if there's anything else he can do." When Rezenn asks where she can drop us Jolley says he's needs to collect an old debt and the Dancing Goat and we all get out there.

"I'll be in touch." Elendil says as he gets out of the carraige. "Thanks."

The regular bartender is there and he palms Elendil a note under his coaster as they order a couple ales. It says 'Good, let me know when you're ready.' The three friends talk quietly about nothing and then Elendil throws a couple gold down for the drinks and they depart.

End of session.

It is mid-afternoon on the 25th. Elendil needs to heal himself and Billi and then go speak with Sister Morgalyn. Jolley wants to go home and "take a nap" with Alicia and Billi decides to go to the Sorcerors College. We are to meet by prior arrangement with Radori and Gobriann at 7 bells. Billi might use his feather to do aerial reconaissance of the ruined temple.

Next Session 6/16/2007