Tim (Laerynthe), Chris (Pawnbroker) and Nick (Mungo, Greatest of all Oorthoi Warriors) were present. Doug was unable to show, and the second Chris had prior commitments.
The characters took the Living Weapon (and possible Spyral Devotee) they had captured outside Paiden to the Translators' Guild, where healers cured his wounds, with the notable exception of his missing leg. Pawag Akowa (still using the unguent the characters found for him to treat his skin fungus problems) and the characters' four turgosk are in attendance.
Before the interrogation proper begins, the characters send Pawag Akowa to fetch chains, a wood saw and a crowbar. He suggests that one of the gatehouses would be the best place to find chains of an appropriate type, and the characters concur. Pawag returns about an hour later, bringing with him Captain Laikoben Bosst (who, according to Pawag, "wouldn't take no for an answer").
Laikoben Bosst, following in the tradition of his Family, is quite an arrogant piece of work. He demands the lead role in the interrogation in no uncertain terms. Laerynthe responds by nettling him and accusing his Family of corruption and of consorting with the Jhokkada. These tactics are incredibly successful, in that they drive Laikoben close enough to the edge to angrily stomp out of the chamber, but do not drive him so far as to challenge Laerynthe to a duel.
As Captain Laikoben Bosst stomps away, the characters all add another name to the list of "People Who Hate Us."
Pawnbroker, speaking in Tharrish, leads off the interrogation. He quickly learns that the Living Weapon's name is Taugus, of Lindo's Plaza. He asks Taugus about what happened to the Folk of Lindo's Plaza, why they were forced to flee to Abbatine, and what their plans are now. Taugus weaves a tale of terrible destruction, in which Mardaka responded to a new Philosophy Lindo had created by calling his Angels down from their stations about the Citadel of the Voice to bring flame, Maelstrom and destruction upon Lindo's Plaza. Taugus also claims that Lindo's teachings have nothing to do with the Spyral, and flatly denies that he is a Spyral Devotee. The characters, listening to the powers associated with Lindo's philosophy and Mardaka's reaction to it, immediately assume that Taugus is either deluded or lying.
Pawnbroker then asks Taugus about the population of Lindo's Plaza. Taugus provides the following statistics on the original population of Lindo's Plaza:
|
Original |
Students of Lindo's Philosophy |
Surviving |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Folk | 7000 | 300 | about 10% |
| Living Weapons | 300 | 120 | >50 |
| Tale-Tellers | 50 | 50 | ? |
| Food-Makers | 30 | 30 | ? |
He says that Lindo was killed in Mardaka's attack, but doesn't know the fate of many of the other Food-Makers of the Plaza. Taugus claims there are at least 200 Plazas in the Holy City and that he knows of at least fifteen that have reached Abbatine, with up to 70% of their inhabitants surviving. Of these Plazas, he specifically names three:
Taugus is very determined to tell Pawnbroker about Lindo's beliefs, but insists that he must tell him in True Speech. Pawnbroker finally lets him, with some reservations. Pawnbroker starts to have visions of spirals as Taugus talks faster and faster. He rushes forward to strangle Taugus, but doesn't make it before Taugus' head explodes, a consequence of using powers forbidden by Abbatine.
Laerynthe writes two copies of a transcript of the interrogation, addressing one to "Dearest" Laikoben Bosst (accompanied by a rather acidic cover page). Pawnbroker dissuades Laerynthe from sending the transcript. Instead, he suggests that the information should be publicly presented to the Patriarch's Council, with representatives of many Families present, both to improve Laerynthe's odds of not dying in a tragic shoplifting accident and to maybe get some money out of the Council.
Pawnbroker talks to Pawag Akowa about presenting the results of the interrogation to the Families. Pawag says that the next meeting of the Patriarchs' Council is in seven days, but that a faster meeting could be called. He suggests calling on Kobus Akowa for dinner at the Akowa Family house. The characters go home to clean up, escorted by the turgosk and concealed by shapeless gray youda robes.
Akowa House is very austere and clean, a fine example of youda architecture taken to its logical extreme. Robed servants stand silently in the corners, waiting to attend to the guests and sending cold shivers down the characters' suspicious backs. Several important Akowa Family members are present at dinner, including:
Based upon the characters' information, Magda Akowa estimates that 30,000 to 50,000 folk have come out of Mardaka, based on the characters' numbers. There is some question on how good Mardaka's angels are at actually finding and killing Spyral Devotees. The characters' conclusion is that they aren't very good at it, even though they are frighteningly good at killing lots of people.
One of the characters suggests that destroying the Mardaka Bridge would be the most effective way to keep more refugees from arriving. Kobus agrees, but admits some doubts of the proper (and safest) technique. He gives Magda Akowa the task of searching the Translators' Guild archives to find ways to get rid of a Bridge.
Pawnbroker also suggests fortifying the end of the Bridge. Kobus comments that this sort of action requires the cooperation of the Bosst Family, and presentation before the Patriarchs' Council. Pawnbroker mentions that the Bosst Family are riven through with the Jhokkada, and Laerynthe tells the Akowa about what he knows of the Jhokkada infiltration into the Bosst Family and their hired troops. The assembled Akowa Family members regard this information as quite sensitive.
The characters return to their home for the night. They and their four turgosk (hired by the Akowa Family) post guards. Laerynthe thinks about sleeping in the basement, then remembers that it's damp and mildewy down there and returns to his chamber.
Something big and clawed bothers Laerynthe's window that night, shredding the blinds. Laerynthe wakes at the noise and strikes out wildly with his acanor, striking the intruder a glancing blow. The characters, alerted by Laerynthe's cries, track the creature up to the roof, where they find a trail leading into their cistern. Though they spend some time pointing crossbows down into the water, looking for some sign of the intruder, they find nothing. Moments later, Laerynthe finds another, more subtle trail leading down the wall of the house into an alleyway.
After spending some time to prepare, Pawnbroker, Mungo and several of the turgosk head out into the night to track the creature. However, even with Pawnbroker's skills and Mungo's night vision, they lose the trail. However, Laerynthe does discover several shell fragments upon the serrated edge of his blade.
After everyone returns to the house, the characters debate for some time about what might have visited them, and who might have sent it. Believing that it was a Jhokkada beast, Laerynthe makes the connection that he admitted he was a member of the Order of the Severed Tongue to the Akowa, and hunts the Jhokkada. He also names Captain Laikoben Bosst as a possible suspect, as he had nettled the Captain about the Bosst being corrupt and infiltrated by the Jhokkada.
The next morning, the characters set up to track down the creature. Curras the Esoteric (who has been living in the characters' attic ever since they rescued him from the destruction of his shantytown) tries a Seeker spell using the creature's shell fragments as a focus, but at a -4 penalty he is unsuccessful. The characters then proceed to the Translators' Guild in full armor, accompanied by their four turgosk.
Once there, they prevail upon Pawag Akowa to find them a magician, with as much discretion as possible. He returns after some time with Lupak Lesso, a tall, somewhat bony human with small, beady eyes. Lupak knows Seeker, and agrees to help the characters. He gets an image of a large cistern, dark with spooky things hanging from platforms overhead. He also gets a sense that the cistern is towards the Old Market.
The characters send Pawag off to look for city plans (he charges them 20 challock). Pawag comes back with a simple map of the Old Barracks cistern. He says that there are two ways to get into the cistern: through the Old Barracks or through the sewers around the Old Market. He also cautions the characters that the Old Barracks have not been used for many years, and are likely to be in rather poor condition. Laerynthe also provides a word of caution, as he once spent many hours observing the Old Market, and knows much about the criminals (many of them Jhokkada) who flock there.
The characters first approach the main door of the Old Barracks, and find that while it is rusted, it is also still quite durable. Seeking an easier entrance, they trace around the building until they find a scullery door that has rotted out. They enter with as much stealth as possible for a group of seven warriors in heavy armor, and quickly encounter several apparent Jhokkada. A brief conflict ensues, in which all but one of the Jhokkada are swiftly dispatched at negligible loss to the characters and their turgosk henchmen.
Pawnbroker, Mungo and Laerynthe then proceed to search the bodies and preserve the life of their one captive while the turgosk stand guard. Some minutes after they begin these endeavors, Pakak is mortally wounded by a crossbow bolt fired from ambush. Pawnbroker swiftly rushes to attack the hidden assassin, only to be immobilized by a Daze spell and dosed with a terribly venomous poison (HT roll every 10 minutes; 1d damage on a successful roll, 2d on a failure; poison continues to act until the victim makes three consecutive HT rolls). By the time Mungo and Laerynthe reach the scene, the killer has made good his escape through a broken window.
With the poison burning through his veins and aggravating a crossbow wound taken in the fight before, Pawnbroker returns to the Translators' Guild, escorted by Shokek and Kuchok. They also take along the badly-wounded Pakak and the lone Jhokkada prisoner. To ease the journey, the two turgosk commandeer a cart in the Old Market. This decision proves to be essential to Pawnbroker's survival, as he loses consciousness due to the poison along the way.
Once at the Translators' Guild, Pawag Akowa swiftly summons healers who treat Pawnbroker's and Pakak's wounds.
After Pawnbroker departs, Laerynthe and Mungo locate a trapdoor leading down into the tunnels under the Old Market. They follow Pawag's hastily-sketched map until, after several minutes of exploration, they find the Old Cistern. They note that the cistern is essentially dry, and has been festooned with an array of platforms and hanging ropes for unknown purposes.
Very quickly after their arrival, they encounter their erstwhile prey, the Jhokk that had visited Laerynthe's window the evening before. The creature charges them from ambush, grappling the unfortunate Takok and hurling him to his death at the base of the Old Cistern. Laerynthe and Mungo trade blows with it, and are quite distressed to see their blades sliding harmlessly off it's thick shell. The situation becomes even worse when it grapples Laerynthe, doubtless preparing to disembowel him and cast the bloody remains into the pit. However, Mungo saves the day with a fierce blow to the creature's head that knocks it unconscious, forcing it to let go of Laerynthe. The two characters swiftly decapitate the thing, bringing it's head and it's right claw back out as trophies.
Pawnbroker and Laerynthe gain four experience points, while Mungo gains five for delivering the death blow to Matok's Jhokk. Of the turgosk, both Shokek and Kuchok survive largely unwounded. Pakak is healed by the sorcerers at the Translators' Guild, while the unfortunate Takok died in the Old Cistern at the hands of the Jhokk.